Guinea Pig Origins
Guinea pigs were first found to be used as food by South American tribes in 2000BC. That region today is known as Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia where the guinea pig is still used as food. They are used also as collectors of evil spirits in healing rituals.
It wasn’t until the Dutch and English traders carried guinea pigs over to Europe when they were introduced as pets. How the guinea pig got its name it really not known. The class of animal a guinea pig comes from is called Cavia Porcellus, the word Cavia translates to many language to little pig. Some believe they got there name because they sound like little pigs when the squeal.
One legend that comes around a lot is that the guinea pigs were sold as pigs that someone could buy for a guinea; at the time a guinea was described as a British coin with a value of 21 cents. There is no evidence that supports that theory. Another theory is that the animals were brought over to Europe by the way of the country of Guinea, when people heard that story they believed it and for a long time thought it was true.
It may never be known why or how the guinea pig got their name, it’s just one of those mysteries. No matter why or how they got their name, they are cute and millions of people have them as pets.
