Domestic cat bones around 8,000 years old have recently been found in Serbia and Poland, rewriting the history of one of humanity’s earliest and most beloved pets. This discovery challenges the long-held belief that domesticated cats arrived in Europe only during Late Antiquity, facilitated by trade networks set up by a crumbling Roman Empire.
The Origins of Domesticated Cats
For years, scientists struggled to determine where and when cats were first domesticated. Finally, in 2017, a paleogenetic analysis clarified that the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the common ancestor of all domesticated cats. About 9,000 years ago, these wildcats began their journey to domestication in the Fertile Crescent — a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran. They were likely drawn to human settlements by the promise of easy prey — rodents feeding on stored grain.
Agriculture was barely a thousand years old by that point. Cats provided a natural form of pest control that early farmers found invaluable. Unlike dogs, which were bred for specific purposes such as hunting, cats integrated into human life easily. And, like they like to do things to this day, cats did this of their own accord.
A separate domestication event occurred in Egypt around 6,000 years ago, resulting in cats that were tamer and more sociable. The ancient Egyptians revered these animals, as illustrated by the cat-headed goddess Bastet. In fact, cats were so highly valued by the ancient Egyptians that killing one was a capital offense that would get you executed.
These early domesticated cats still looked very much like their wild counterparts. It wasn’t until the 19th century or so that breeders started experimenting with crossing different cats, resulting in the fancy breeds you’re familiar with today. Even the mutation responsible for the familiar tabby cats on the Taqpep gene didn’t appear until the Medieval ages.
First Cats in Central Europe
Although cats had been domesticated for some time in Egypt and the Near East, the assumption has always been that domesticated felines started appearing in Europe sometime around the 3rd or 4th century AD. However, Dr. Magdalena Krajcarz from Nicolaus Copernicus has analyzed six Neolithic cat remains with Near Eastern cat characteristics from southern Poland and Serbia. She compared these to European wildcats from the same period. The team used stable isotope analysis to examine the cats’ diets. This method provides a snapshot of what these cats ate over their lifetimes, revealing how closely they lived with humans.
Dr. Krajcarz’s findings indicate that Near Eastern wildcats, which are the ancestors of today’s domestic cats as outlined earlier, were not fully dependent on humans. These cats benefited from human activity by hunting rodents attracted to human settlements, yet they maintained their independence by also hunting in the wild. This dual strategy might have facilitated their eventual full-on domestication. But the signs suggest that ancient Europe wasn’t as cat-less as previously thought as early as 6000 BC.
Large and not yet in charge
These neolithic cats were large and stout, about the size of European wildcats. They shrunk in size as humans crossed into the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and later into the Medieval Age.
However, although some cats were in Europe thousands of years before the Egyptians went crazy over them, it does seem the case that cats didn’t truly conquer Europe until the Mediterranean trade networks were in place. Ample cat remains are found in Egypt around 5,500 years ago, but significant remains in Greece date from 1400 BC. They arrived in the Roman Republic around 500 BC, and in the Iberic Peninsula around 400 BC. Finally, cats arrived very late in the British Isles around 100 BC, where Vikings would find them around 800 AD and bring them along with them on their maritime voyages.
The discovery of these ancient cat bones in Europe not only rewrites the history of domesticated cats but also highlights their longstanding role as human companions. These findings suggest a complex and intertwined journey of domestication, influenced by both utility and companionship.
