Ancient DNA reveals role of Near East and Egypt in cat domestication
Monday, June 19, 2017 - 10:22
in Paleontology & Archaeology
DNA found at archaeological sites reveals that the origins of our domestic cat are in the Near East and ancient Egypt. Cats were domesticated by the first farmers some 10,000 years ago. They later spread across Europe and other parts of the world via trade hub Egypt. The DNA analysis also revealed that most of these ancient cats had stripes: spotted cats were uncommon until the Middle Ages.