Latest DNA research shows earlier spread of cats in civilized world

in science •  7 years ago  (edited)

Further light has been shed on the genetic origins of domesticated cats. As descendants of a wild and much larger animal, modern cats may have been domesticated as far back as 10,000 years ago - and maybe even further than that.

From AP:
A DNA study reached back thousands of years to track that conquest and found evidence of two major dispersals from the Middle East, in which people evidently took cats with them. Genetic signatures the felines had on those journeys are still seen in most modern-day breeds.

Researchers analyzed DNA from 209 ancient cats as old as 9,000 years from Europe, Africa and Asia, including some ancient Egyptian cat mummies.

“They are direct witnesses of the situation in the past,” said Eva-Maria Geigl of the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris. She and colleagues also looked at 28 modern feral cats from Bulgaria and east Africa.

Read more: https://apnews.com/cec1a1c6a8cc4728830ad1c859e0ec72

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