Cat History
New genetic research overturns the long-held theory that cats were domesticated by Neolithic farmers and brought to Europe thousands of years ago
A study published in the journal Science analyzed 87 ancient and modern cat genomes and found that domestic cats arrived in Europe roughly 2,000 years ago, not during the Neolithic period as previously believed.
The findings came as a surprise to researchers who had long assumed cats entered human settlements alongside the first farmers in the Levant around 9,500 years ago.
"The earliest domestic cat genomes in Europe are found from the Roman imperial period onwards."
The research team analyzed 225 bones of cats from 97 archaeological sites across Europe and the Near East. The samples ranged from about 10,000 years ago to the 19th century AD. Cat remains from prehistoric sites in Europe belonged to wildcats, not early domestic cats.
Cat Genomes
Analyzed
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Cats Arrived
A 9,500-year-old grave discovered in Cyprus in 2001 had previously been considered evidence of early domestication. A separate study led by Sean Doherty at the University of Exeter compared the bone measurements from that Cyprus cat with skeletal data from 2,400 wild and domestic felines. The Cyprus animal was identified as a European wildcat, not a domestic cat or its direct ancestor.
The genome data identified two introductions of cats to Europe from North Africa. Roughly 2,200 years ago, people brought wildcats from northwestern Africa to Sardinia. A separate dispersal from North Africa about two centuries later formed the genetic basis of the modern domestic cat in Europe.
Also published on the same day was a study in Cell Genomics examining feline history in China. The research team led by Shu-Jin Luo at Peking University's School of Life Sciences analyzed 22 felid bones spanning 5,000 years. The earliest domestic cat in China dated to around 730 CE during the Tang Dynasty, found at Tongwan City on the Silk Road.
Cats held sacred status in ancient Egypt
Feline history in China reveals surprising findings
The China study revealed that a different species, the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), had lived alongside humans in the region for 3,500 years before the arrival of domestic cats.
"Leopard cats returned to their natural habitats, living today as our elusive and hidden neighbors."
The leopard cat disappeared from Chinese settlements around 200 CE, coinciding with the fall of the Han Dynasty and a period of climatic trouble. The rise of cage-based poultry farming during the Tang Dynasty may have made leopard cats unwelcome due to their tendency to prey on chickens.
Leopard cats lived alongside humans in China for millennia before domestic cats arrived
Some researchers propose that domestic cats were first tamed not for pest control but for religious purposes. The University of Exeter study suggests mass sacrifices tied to the Egyptian goddess Bastet may have selected for tameness over many generations.
"It's the murder pathway of domestication."
Egyptian cat mummies dating from 500 to 0 BCE remain the oldest confirmed examples of domesticated cats. Bastet's temples were often located near agricultural regions where rodents and their wildcat predators were present. This may have provided the setting for closer human-feline contact.
Jonathan Losos, a professor of biology at Washington University in St. Louis, noted the findings could have applications for understanding how other animals adapt to human environments.
"Raccoons, opossums, foxes — they're all in some sense doing the same thing that cats and dogs did."
Marco De Martino, co-author of the Science study, emphasized the significance of the timeline.
"The earliest domestic genomes arrived in Europe roughly around 2,000 years ago — several millennia later than previously thought."
"Cat domestication is complex."
Claudio Ottoni