New Study Revives Debate Over Cat Origins, Suggests Feline Domestication Took Centuries Longer Than Thought.
A recent study has reignited the debate over when cats first became domesticated. Scientists have long been fascinated by the origins of these enigmatic animals, and a new research team has made some surprising discoveries that challenge prevailing theories on cat domestication.
According to the researchers, who analyzed DNA from 70 ancient cats found near human settlements stretching back over 10,000 years, domestic cats did not become widespread in Europe until around 2,000 years ago. This finding is in stark contrast to a widely held theory that domestic cats originated in the Levant region of West Asia about 10,000 years ago.
The team's research also suggests that modern domestic cats are more closely related to wildcats from North Africa than those from the Levant. Furthermore, they found that some cat remains discovered on the island of Sardinia off Italy are actually linked to North African wildcats, indicating that people introduced a distinct population of wildcats to the island around 2,200 years ago.
While this new study provides some answers about cat origins, it also raises more questions than it solves. The researchers admit that there is still much to be learned about the domestication process, particularly regarding the timing and location of early domestication events.
According to evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos, who commented on the study, DNA evidence suggests that European domestic cats arrived around 2,000 years ago, while archaeological findings indicate a more recent arrival date of around 3,000 years.
The researchers are now planning to dig deeper into ancient samples from African sites, including Egyptian mummies from the Pharaonic period, in an effort to better understand when and how domestication occurred.
One thing is certain: cats have been our companions for thousands of years, bringing joy and affection to countless humans around the world. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of their origins, we can only imagine what other surprises this enigmatic creature has in store for us.
A recent study has reignited the debate over when cats first became domesticated. Scientists have long been fascinated by the origins of these enigmatic animals, and a new research team has made some surprising discoveries that challenge prevailing theories on cat domestication.
According to the researchers, who analyzed DNA from 70 ancient cats found near human settlements stretching back over 10,000 years, domestic cats did not become widespread in Europe until around 2,000 years ago. This finding is in stark contrast to a widely held theory that domestic cats originated in the Levant region of West Asia about 10,000 years ago.
The team's research also suggests that modern domestic cats are more closely related to wildcats from North Africa than those from the Levant. Furthermore, they found that some cat remains discovered on the island of Sardinia off Italy are actually linked to North African wildcats, indicating that people introduced a distinct population of wildcats to the island around 2,200 years ago.
While this new study provides some answers about cat origins, it also raises more questions than it solves. The researchers admit that there is still much to be learned about the domestication process, particularly regarding the timing and location of early domestication events.
According to evolutionary biologist Jonathan Losos, who commented on the study, DNA evidence suggests that European domestic cats arrived around 2,000 years ago, while archaeological findings indicate a more recent arrival date of around 3,000 years.
The researchers are now planning to dig deeper into ancient samples from African sites, including Egyptian mummies from the Pharaonic period, in an effort to better understand when and how domestication occurred.
One thing is certain: cats have been our companions for thousands of years, bringing joy and affection to countless humans around the world. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of their origins, we can only imagine what other surprises this enigmatic creature has in store for us.
so apparently cats took centuries longer to become domesticated than thought? that's wild! 10,000 years seems like a looong time to wait for our feline friends to join the human family. and now we're learning more about their ancestors from North Africa? cool, I wish I knew more about how people introduced those wildcats to Sardinia 
what were they thinking back then? did they know how much joy cats would bring? 
! I mean, who knew that domestic cats didn't become a thing in Europe until like 2k years ago?! Mind blown, fam 
. And the part about them being more closely related to wildcats from North Africa than the Levant? Crazy talk 
. Can't wait for them to dig deeper into those ancient African samples and Egyptian mummies – I'm sure they'll find some cat-tastic clues 
! like, who knew that domesticated cats weren't exactly 10k years old like we thought? 
it's wild to think that they actually spread out from north africa to europe way later than we thought, around 2000 yrs ago 
and what about those egyptian mummies? are they related to north african wildcats too? 
they've been our buddies and our enemies, our saviors and our overlords... just kidding (kinda 
. bring on the cat origins 2.0! 
it's kinda crazy how much we don't know about cat history 
and i'm so down for more research on those ancient egyptian mummies 
and I'm not just talking about the fashion 
I'm talking about the fact that people were still trying to tame wildcats like they were livestock 
it's amazing how much we've learned from our furry friends in such a short time of time 
It's gonna be interesting to see what more research reveals about cat origins!
. its cool that they're gonna dig deeper into ancient samples tho, maybe we'll finally get some concrete answers about how cats became our little overlords 
.
. So, it's actually gonna take more DNA analysis and digging up those Egyptian mummies 
... can't wait to see what they find out next 
.
Like, 2,000 years ago is still pretty recent in the grand scheme of human history. And can you believe they found evidence that North African wildcats are actually more closely related to modern domestic cats?! 
They bring so much joy and affection into our lives, and it's only natural that we want to know more about their origins. Can't wait for the next discovery! 
like 2k yrs ago?! and now they're still being super independent and not really acknowledging their owners as much lol just kidding sorta... but seriously can u believe that people actually had to introduce north african wildcats to sardinia like 2200 yrs ago? 
, idk if i'm just being too harsh or something... maybe cats just took their sweet time getting domesticated and were all like "hey, humans, we're in" 
.
like, who knew cats took so long to make friends with humans lol. 
but also raises more questions than answers, like how did that happen? and why did domestication take so long in europe. 
. Cats took a chill pill & hit Europe like 2k yrs ago 