New Genetic Study Sheds Light on Cat Domestication in Ancient Rome

A new genetic study is altering our understanding of cat domestication in ancient Rome. Researchers Claudio Ottoni and Marco De Martino from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, along with their colleagues, analyzed DNA samples from 70 cats that lived across Europe, North Africa, and Anatolia between the ninth century B.C. and the nineteenth century A.D.

Their findings, reported by Gizmodo and featured in Archaeology Magazine, suggest that domestic cats, scientifically known as Felis catus, may have arrived in Europe only about 2,000 years ago. This is a significant shift from the previously held belief that domestication began approximately 10,000 years ago, when wildcats cohabited with early farmers in the Levant, hunting rodents that threatened stored grains.

Historically, it was thought that these cats accompanied Neolithic farmers migrating from Anatolia to Europe around 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians revered cats around 4,000 years ago, further complicating the timeline of their domestication.

However, the genetic comparison revealed that modern domestic cats are more closely related to North African wildcats, Felis lybica, than to their Levantine counterparts. The study also indicated that the earliest ancestral domestic cats in Europe were established only about 2,000 years ago.

Prior to this, the cats in Europe and Anatolia were identified as genetically European wildcats. A surprising discovery was made regarding feral cats in Sardinia, which were previously believed to descend from local domestic cats.

Instead, they were found to be more closely related to North African wildcats, suggesting that humans introduced these wildcats to the island approximately 2,200 years ago. The researchers concluded that the timeline for cat domestication remains an open question, with ongoing efforts to analyze ancient samples from archaeological sites in Africa, including Egyptian mummies from the Pharaonic period.

Ottoni and De Martino emphasized their objective to deepen the understanding of human-animal interactions throughout history through further research.