Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Of Cats and Men: Ancient DNA Reveals How the Cat Conquered the Ancient World

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Paleogenomics

Part of the book series: Population Genomics ((POGE))

Abstract

Neither genetics and genomics of modern cats nor archeology could so far reconstruct the domestication and dispersal process of the cat. It was only known that all domestic cats belong to the subspecies Felis silvestris lybica, that their genomes are close to the ones of wildcats, and that they were translocated to Cyprus by the Neolithic farmers who colonized this island roughly 9,500 years ago. The results of our large-scale paleogenetic study of the mitochondrial DNA of archeological cat remains fill the existing gaps in that they allowed us to reconstruct the history of the dispersal of the cat starting in Southwest Asia during the Neolithic and achieving a new quality in Egypt during the 1st millennium BCE. Together with those from Southwest Asia, these mitochondrial lineages from Egypt showed up in samples from the following centuries all over Southwest Asia, North Africa, and Europe, testifying of the cat’s conquest of the ancient world. The dispersal pattern that we reconstructed from our data tells us that cats accompanied seafarers throughout history on their trading and raiding routes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Asouti E, Fuller DQ. From foraging to farming in the southern Levant: the development of Epipaleolithic and pre-pottery Neolithic plant management strategies. Veg Hist Archaeobotany. 2012;21:149–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bar-Yosef O. The Natufian culture in the Levant, threshold to the origins of agriculture. Evol Anthropol. 1998;6(5):159–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beadle M. The cat: history, biology, behavior. New York: Simon and Schuster; 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaumont M, Barratt EM, Gottelli D, Kitchener AC, Daniels MJ, Pritchard JK. Genetic diversity and introgression in the Scottish wildcat. Mol Ecol. 2002;10:319–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belfer-Cohen A, Bar-Yosef O. Early sedentism in the near east: a bumpy ride to village life. In: Kuijt I, editor. Life in Neolithic farming communities: social organization, identity, and differentiation. New York: Kluwer/Plenum Press; 2000. p. 19–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benecke N. Der Mensch und seine Haustiere - Die Geschichte einer jahrtausendealten Beziehung. Stuttgart: Konrad Theiss Verlag; 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boessneck J, von den Driesch A. Ein Katzenskelett der Römerzeit aus Quscir (Koser) am Roten Meer. Spixiana. 1983;6:285–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bökönyi S. History of domestic animals. Mammals in central and eastern Europe. Publicationes Instituti Archaeologici Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Studia Archaeologica. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiado; 1974.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bökönyi S. Animal husbandry and hunting in Tac-Gorsium: the vertebrate fauna of a Roman town in Pannonia. Publicationes Instituti Archaeologici Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, Studia archaeologica. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiado; 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brentjes B. Die Haustierwerdung im Orient. Der Neue Brehm. Wittenberg: Ziemsen Verlag; 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champlot S, Berthelot C, Pruvost M, Bennett EA, Grange T, Geigl EM. An efficient multistrategy DNA decontamination procedure of PCR reagents for hypersensitive PCR applications. PLoS One. 2010;5(9):e13042. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013042.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Childs JE. Size-dependent predation on rats (Rattus norvegicus) by house cats (Felis catus) in an urban setting. J Mammology. 1986;67:196–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock J. A natural history of domesticated animals. London: Cambridge University Press; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cote NM, Daligault J, Pruvost M, Bennett EA, Gorge O, Guimaraes S, Capelli N, Le Bailly M, Geigl EM, Grange T. A new high-throughput approach to genotype ancient human gastrointestinal parasites. PLoS One. 2016;11(1):e0146230. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146230.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Davis SJM. The archaeology of animals. London: B.T. Batsford; 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll CA, Menotti-Raymond M, Roca AL, Hupe K, Johnson WE, Geffen E, Harley EH, Delibes M, Pontier D, Kitchener AC, Yamaguchi N, O'Brien SJ, Macdonald DW. The near eastern origin of cat domestication. Science. 2007;317(5837):519–23. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1139518.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Engels DW. Classical cats: the rise and fall of the sacred cat. Abingdon: Routledge; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewing E. Fur in dress. London: Batsford; 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faure E, Kitchener AC. An archaeological and historical review of the relationships between felids and people. Anthrozoös. 2009;22(3):221–38. https://doi.org/10.2752/175303709X457577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gautier A. Fauna, domesticated. Encyclopedia of the archaeology of ancient Egypt. London: Routledge; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guimaraes S, Pruvost M, Daligault J, Stoetzel E, Bennett EA, Cote NM, Nicolas V, Lalis A, Denys C, Geigl EM, Grange T. A cost-effective high-throughput metabarcoding approach powerful enough to genotype ~44 000 year-old rodent remains from northern Africa. Mol Ecol Resour. 2016;17(3):405–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12565.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaelin CB, Xu X, Hong LZ, David VA, McGowan KA, Schmidt-Kuntzel A, Roelke ME, Pino J, Pontius J, Cooper GM, Manuel H, Swanson WF, Marker L, Harper CK, van Dyk A, Yue B, Mullikin JC, Warren WC, Eizirik E, Kos L, O’Brien SJ, Barsh GS, Menotti-Raymond M. Specifying and sustaining pigmentation patterns in domestic and wild cats. Science. 2012;337(6101):1536–41. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1220893.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk M. The everlasting cat. New York: Galahad Books; 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krüger M, Hertwig ST, Jetschke G, Fischer MS. Evaluation of anatomical characters and the question of hybridization with domestic cats in the wildcat population of Thuringia, Germany. J Zool Syst Evol Res. 2009;47:268–82. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurushima JD, Lipinski MJ, Gandolfi B, Froenicke L, Grahn JC, Grahn RA, Lyons LA. Variation of cats under domestication: genetic assignment of domestic cats to breeds and worldwide random bred populations. Anim Genet. 2013;44(3):311–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/age.12008.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazaridis I, Nadel D, Rollefson G, Merrett DC, Rohland N, Mallick S, Fernandes D, Novak M, Gamarra B, Sirak K, Connell S, Stewardson K, Harney E, Fu Q, Gonzalez-Fortes G, Jones ER, Roodenberg SA, Lengyel G, Bocquentin F, Gasparian B, Monge JM, Gregg M, Eshed V, Mizrahi AS, Meiklejohn C, Gerritsen F, Bejenaru L, Bluher M, Campbell A, Cavalleri G, Comas D, Froguel P, Gilbert E, Kerr SM, Kovacs P, Krause J, McGettigan D, Merrigan M, Merriwether DA, O’Reilly S, Richards MB, Semino O, Shamoon-Pour M, Stefanescu G, Stumvoll M, Tonjes A, Torroni A, Wilson JF, Yengo L, Hovhannisyan NA, Patterson N, Pinhasi R, Reich D. Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient near east. Nature. 2016;536(7617):419–24. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature19310.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lepetz S. L'animal dans la société gallo-romaine de la France du Nord. Revue Archéologique de Picardie (Amiens). 1996;S12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Librado P, Gamba C, Gaunitz C, Der Sarkissian C, Pruvost M, Albrechtsen A, Fages A, Khan N, Schubert M, Jagannathan V, Serres-Armero A, Kuderna LFK, Povolotskaya IS, Seguin-Orlando A, Lepetz S, Neuditschko M, Theves C, Alquraishi S, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid K, Rieder S, Samashev Z, Francfort HP, Benecke N, Hofreiter M, Ludwig A, Keyser C, Marques-Bonet T, Ludes B, Crubezy E, Leeb T, Willerslev E, Orlando L. Ancient genomic changes associated with domestication of the horse. Science. 2017;356(6336):442–5. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam5298.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luce J-M. Les chats dans l'Antiquité grecque. In: Bellier C, Cattelain L, Cattelain P, editors. Chiens et chats dans la Préhistoire et l'Antiquité. Bruxelles: Editions de Cedarc; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig A, Pruvost M, Reissmann M, Benecke N, Brockmann GA, Castanos P, Cieslak M, Lippold S, Llorente L, Malaspinas AS, Slatkin M, Hofreiter M. Coat color variation at the beginning of horse domestication. Science. 2009;324(5926):485. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1172750.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons LA. DNA mutations of the cat. J Feline Med Surg. 2015;17:203–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Machon C. Le culte du chat en Egypte ancienne. In: Bellier C, Cattelain L, Cattelain P, editors. Chiens et chats dans la Préhistoire et l'Antiquité. Bruxelles: Editions de Cedarc; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Málek J. The cat in ancient Egypt. Rev ed. London: The British Museum Press; 1993–2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mattucci F, Oliveira R, Lyons LA, Alves PC, Randi E. European wildcat populations are subdivided into five main biogeographic groups: consequences of Pleistocene climate changes or recent anthropogenic fragmentation? Ecol Evol. 2015;6(1):3–22. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1815.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Montague MJ, Li G, Gandolfi B, Khan R, Aken BL, Searle SMJ, Minx P, Hillier LW, Koboldt DC, Davis BW, Driscoll CA, Barr CS, Blackistone K, Quilez J, Lorente-Galdos B, Marques-Bonet T, Alkan C, Thomas GWC, Hahn MW, Menotti-Raymond M, O’Brien SJ, Wilson RK, Lyons LA, Murphy WJ, Warren WC. Comparative analysis of the domestic cat genome reveals genetic signatures underlying feline biology and domestication. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(48):17230–5. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1410083111.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison-Scott TCS. The mummified cats of ancient Egypt. Proc Zool Soc London. 1952;121:861–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller F. Körpermerkmale als Unterscheidungskriterien zwischen wildfarbenen Hauskatzen (Felis s. catus) und Wildkatzen (Felis silvestris silvestris, Felidae) aus Mitteleuropa. Beiträge zur Jagd- und Wildforschung. 2011;36:359–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliviera R, Godinho R, Randi E, Alves PC. Hybridization vs conservation: are domestic cats threatening the genetic integrity of European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) populations in Iberian peninsula? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008;363:2953–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ottoni C, Van Neer W, De Cupere B, Daligault J, Guimaraes S, Peters J, Spassov N, Prendergast ME, Boivin NL, Morales-Muñiz A, Balasescu A, Benecke N, Boroneanț A, Buitenhuis H, Chahoud J, Crowther A, Llorente L, Manaseryan N, Monchot H, Onar V, Osypińska M, Putelat O, Quintana Morales EM, Studer J, Wierer U, Decorte R, Grange T, Geigl EM. The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world. Nat Ecol Evol. 2017;1:0139. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özdogan M. Archaeological evidence on the westward expansion of farming communities from eastern Anatolia to the Aegean and the Balkans. Curr Anthropol. 2011;52:S415–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pierpaoli M, Biro ZS, Herrmann M, Hupe K, Fernandes M, Ragni B, Szemethy L, Randi E. Genetic distinction of wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, and hybridization with domestic cats in Hungary. Mol Ecol. 2003;12(10):2585–98.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothwell T. Evidence for taming of cats – response to J.-D. Vigne and J. Guilaine. Science. 2004;305:1714.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Snir A, Nadel D, Groman-Yaroslavski I, Melamed Y, Sternberg M, Bar-Yosef O, Weiss E. The origin of cultivation and proto-weeds, long before Neolithic farming. PLoS One. 2015;10(7):e0131422. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0131422.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sunquist MN, Sunquist F. Wild cats of the world. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Neer W, Linseele V, Friedman R, De Cupere B. More evidence for cat taming at the Predynastic elite cemetery of Hierakonpolis (Upper Egypt). J Arch Sci. 2014;45:103–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.02.014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vigne J-D, Guilaine J, Debue K, Haye L, Gérard P. Early taming of the cat in Cyprus. Science. 2004;304(5668):259. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1095335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Von den Driesch A. Kulturgeschichte der Hauskatze. In: Schmidt V, Horzinek MC, editors. Krankheiten der Katze, vol. 1. Jena: Gustav Fischer Verlag; 1992. p. 17–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warmenbol E. Le chien et le chat en Egypte pharaonique: à la vie, à la mort. In: Chiens et chats dans la Préhistoire et l'Antiquité. Bruxelles: Editions du Cedarc; 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wozencraft C. Felis silvestris. In: Wilson DE, Reeder DM, editors. Mammal species of the world. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2005. p. 2142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamaguchi N, Kitchener AC, Driscoll C, Nussberger B. Felis silvestris. In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015. 2015.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeder MA. Pathways to animal domestication. In: Gepts P, Famula TR, Bettinger RL, et al., editors. Biodiversity in agriculture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2012. p. 227–59.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for his/her interesting propositions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, UMR 7592, University Paris Diderot, Paris, France

    Eva-Maria Geigl & Thierry Grange

Authors
  1. Eva-Maria Geigl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thierry Grange
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eva-Maria Geigl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, USA

    Charlotte Lindqvist

  2. Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada

    Om P. Rajora

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Geigl, EM., Grange, T. (2018). Of Cats and Men: Ancient DNA Reveals How the Cat Conquered the Ancient World. In: Lindqvist, C., Rajora, O. (eds) Paleogenomics. Population Genomics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/13836_2018_26

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation