The origin of domestic cats has been a prominent topic amongst researchers. Their emergence has been linked to the Neolithic period, where they accompanied the farmers while spreading across Europe, along with the agricultural adaptation. However, further investigations have been conducted wherein the significance puzzled the archaeologists. Recently, two large-scale investigations were conducted by the University of Rome Tor Vergata and 42 institutions, and another by the University of Exeter and contributors from 37 institutions, pointing out that Tunisia could be the place of the origin of the domestic cat.
The Tor Vergata Study on Cats
Paleo-genomic investigations were performed by the knowledgeable group of experts from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, who examined cat specimens from 97 archeological sites in Europe and Anatolia. Similarly, they collected samples from Italy, Bulgaria, and North Africa.
The study, “The dispersal of domestic cats from Northern Africa and their introduction to Europe over the last two millennia,” was published on bioRxiv. In it, the researchers examined 17 modern and museum genomes, 37 radiocarbon-dated cat remains, and 70 low-coverage ancient genomes.
The Tor Vergata Study Results
Due to nuclear DNA analysis, the Tor Vergata Team was able to identify domestically ancestry-based cats that first came in Europe in the first century CE. Additionally, the team discovered two introductory waves: one from the second century BCE, when wildcats were introduced to Sardinia from Northwest Africa, increasing the island’s current population, and another from the Roman Imperial period, when the cats’ genetic sounds were similar to those of domestic cats in Europe. Here, it was noted that early domestication originated in Tunisia.
The University of Exeter Study
The University of Exeter’s collaborative study clarified a clear chronology in a publication titled “Redefining the timing and circumstances of cat domestication, their dispersal trajectories, and the extirpation of European Wildcats.” In addition to cross-referencing morphological data and genetic findings, they examined 2,416 archeological field bones from around 206 sites.
According to the main conclusions of this collaborative study, domestic cats first originated in Europe in the early first century BCE. They existed prior to the Roman conquest.
The Egyptian Connection
Mythological views suggest that religious and cultural factors played a role in the domestication of cats. Cats were revered as sacred animals in Egypt. These animals also became religious representations of Artemis and Diana, two facets of the complex goddess, in Greek culture.
The findings suggest that cats arrived in Europe after migrating from North Africa due to cultural customs, religious observance, and commerce networks, despite the fact that the two research present differing interpretations.
