Fabulous felines | PETS
http://www.petsmagazine.com.au 43
of Natural History in Paris
uncovered a 9500-year-old
burial site on the island of
Cyprus. The site contained two skeletons,
a human and a cat, within close proximity,
surrounded by tools, polished stones, seashells
and other decorations. This discovery was
signifi cant because it debunked the long-held
Egyptian theory by providing solid evidence
that humans and felines were coexisting
thousands of years before
previous evidence
suggested.CATS IN THE
CRADLE
The Cyprus discovery
reinvigorated the
search for the exact point
of feline domestication.
Archaeologists gave way
to geneticists such as Dr
Carlos Driscoll. He looked
to DNA instead of bones.
Dr Carlos and his team
collected and analysed
DNA from 979 wild and
domestic cats from all over
the world and determined
that there were fi vegenetically distinctive wildcat lineages: Felis
silvestris silvestris from Europe, Felis silvestris cafra
from southern Africa, Felis silvestris ornata from
central Asia and Felis silvestris bieti from China.
The fi fth lineage not only included the fi fth
subspecies, Felis silvestris lybica from the Middle
East, but it also included all of the domestic,
purebred and mixed-breed cats. According to Dr
Carlos’s fi ndings, all domestic cats, including the
ones that roam our hallways, descended from
this one subspecies of wildcats.
After determining the how, Dr Carlos’s team
turned their attention to when domestication
began. Thanks to Dr Vigne’s Cyprus cat
research, Dr Carlos was able to narrow down
domestication to around 12,500 BC, just as
humans were establishing the fi rst settlements
in an area known as the Fertile Crescent (also
known as the cradle of civilisation).
With the spread of agriculture, humans
were not only storing large quantities of food
but they were also creating sizeable amounts
of food waste, which attracted scavengers
such as wildcats. People discovered that these
cats were adequate at keeping the rodent
population in control and at this point our
relationship with Felis silvestris lybica began.DOMESTICATED TWICE?
Earlier this year, scientists from the University
of Leuven and the Royal Belgian Institute of
Natural Science helped us get one step closerThe Korat is thought to be one of wildest naturally produced domestic cats.Cats played a big
part in Ancient
Egyptian society.WILD BEHAVIOUR
Cats still display “wild” behaviour,
whether it be chattering while
watching a bird outside, pouncing
on toys or rough-housing with other
pets. Have you noticed any wild
behaviour in your cat? Share your
story on our Facebook page.PLF071_pg042-044_History of Cats.indd 43PLF071_pg042-044_History of Cats.indd 43 8/23/2017 10:46:09 AM8/23/2017 10:46:09 AM