 Sheep entered the African continent not long after their domestication in western Asia . A minority of historians once posited a contentious African theory of origin for Ovis aries . This theory is based primarily on rock art interpretations , and osteological evidence from Barbary sheep . The first sheep entered North Africa via Sinai , and were present in ancient Egyptian society between eight and seven thousand years ago . Sheep have always been part of subsistence farming in Africa , but today the only country that keeps significant numbers of commercial sheep is South Africa , with 28 @.@ 8 million head . 
