Genetic evidence suggests that cats were domesticated by farmers in the Near East and ancient Egypt 10,000 years ago.
To accurately determine when and where cats were first domesticated, the team at the University of Leuven, Belgium, analyzed DNA samples taken from bones dating from 100 to 9,000 years of 200 declared cats. excavated at archaeological sites in the Near East, Africa and Europe.
Genetic analyzes in a paper published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on June 19 show that domestic cats are derived from African wild cats (Felis silvestris lybica), a subspecies of cats living in the Near East. and Egypt.
Farmers in the Near East 10,000 years ago may have accepted the presence of wild cats, as they protected their seeds from rodents.
Over time, the relationship between cats and humans has gradually changed the genome and behavior of wild cats, and the subspecies of wild cats gradually become domesticated by humans.
The migrant farmers then brought domestic cats to the new area. Sailors also carried cats on the merchant ships to catch rats, allowing domesticated cats to quickly spread throughout Europe, along trade routes.
“We still don’t know if the domestic Egyptian cats were brought in from the Near East, or if they were exclusively domesticated in Egypt,” said Claudio Ottoni, a member of the research team. .
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