Where did cats come from?

[hatcheckgirl]

An interesting history of where cats came from, and how cats and humans came together, from a scientific study.

 

Recently, the analysis of the DNA contained in bones, teeth, claws and even hairs of more that 200 ancient cat specimens – a study conducted by the University of Leuven, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences of Brussels and the Institute Jacques Monod of Paris – has shed new light on the history of cat domestication. Through cutting-edge ancient DNA techniques, we investigated the maternal ancestries (the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA) of cats from various archaeological sites in Europe, Southwest Asia and Africa. The temporal depth and the geographic coverage of the samples made it possible to infer the original phylogeographic structure of cats (i.e. the geographic distribution of genetically distinct cat populations in the past), something that archaeological surveys and genetic analyses of modern cats could not detect.  

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/01/Where-Do-Cats-Come-From

 

Importantly, cats were never selected for a peculiar task by humans; they already possessed in their wild state the predatory skills that made them useful to human communities: hunting mice and other pests that infested human grain storages (or households, ships and so on).... On the contrary, most other domestic animals followed a pathway of domestication that at some point was strongly influenced by human manipulation aimed at selecting specific traits that could assist humans (for example for work or for food supply). This is true for livestock species, horses and also for the dog. 

[carlos]

28 minutes ago, hatcheckgirl said:

Importantly, cats were never selected for a peculiar task by humans; they already possessed in their wild state the predatory skills that made them useful to human communities: hunting mice and other pests that infested human grain storages (or households, ships and so on)....

In other words, we didn't adopt cats, they adopted us... as their servants.

[Qapla]

And here I thought Andrew Loyd Weber wrote it back in 1981

[➕👇 ꓤꓱꓷꓠꓵ🎵Tone]

Thought I'd post this here as well...

Just Older

[Pjdriver]

5 hours ago, hatcheckgirl said:

An interesting history of where cats came from, and how cats and humans came together, from a scientific study.

 

Recently, the analysis of the DNA contained in bones, teeth, claws and even hairs of more that 200 ancient cat specimens – a study conducted by the University of Leuven, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences of Brussels and the Institute Jacques Monod of Paris – has shed new light on the history of cat domestication. Through cutting-edge ancient DNA techniques, we investigated the maternal ancestries (the maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA) of cats from various archaeological sites in Europe, Southwest Asia and Africa. The temporal depth and the geographic coverage of the samples made it possible to infer the original phylogeographic structure of cats (i.e. the geographic distribution of genetically distinct cat populations in the past), something that archaeological surveys and genetic analyses of modern cats could not detect.  

http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/01/Where-Do-Cats-Come-From

 

Importantly, cats were never selected for a peculiar task by humans; they already possessed in their wild state the predatory skills that made them useful to human communities: hunting mice and other pests that infested human grain storages (or households, ships and so on).... On the contrary, most other domestic animals followed a pathway of domestication that at some point was strongly influenced by human manipulation aimed at selecting specific traits that could assist humans (for example for work or for food supply). This is true for livestock species, horses and also for the dog. 

When I went to Istanbul about 10 years ago I noticed there were feral or stray cats in different parts of the city. Sometime I’d see them in groups of 10-15. Then my son who was living there explained  to me that those cats can do pretty much whatever they want to do.

 

Cats have been venerated in the Near East since antiquity, a tradition adopted by Islam, albeit in a much modified form.^[3] According to many hadiths, Muhammad prohibited the persecution and killing of cats.^[2]

Cat resting on a pillow next to an imam in Cairo, by John Frederick Lewis

One of Muhammad's companions was known as Abu Hurairah (literally: "Father of the Kitten") for his attachment to cats.^[1] Abu Hurairah claimed that he had heard Muhammad declare that a woman went to Hell for starving a female kitten and not providing her with any water, but this was disputed by Muhammad's widow Aisha.^[4] According to legend, Abu Hurairah's cat saved Muhammad from a snake.^[2] In gratitude, Muhammad stroked the cat's back and forehead, thus blessing all cats with the righting reflex. The stripes some cats have on their foreheads are believed to mark the touch of Muhammad's fingers.^[5]

Edited January 4, 2019 by Pjdriver

[tekmantwo]

7 hours ago, carlos said:

In other words, we didn't adopt cats, they adopted us... as their servants.

In ancient Egypt cats were worshipped as gods...they have never forgotten that...

[hatcheckgirl]

4 hours ago, Pjdriver said:

When I went to Istanbul about 10 years ago I noticed there were feral or stray cats in different parts of the city. Sometime I’d see them in groups of 10-15. 

Have you ever seen the doco/movie Kedi? It’s all about the cats of Instanbul. My kinda movie. 🐱 

[coony77]

1 hour ago, hatcheckgirl said:

Have you ever seen the doco/movie Kedi? It’s all about the cats of Instanbul. My kinda movie. 🐱 

Actually I wanted to see it but unfortunately I missed it when it was on cinemas in Germany (because the showed it only for a short time period) 

I´ll try to see it maybe by a different source.

 

I never get tired watching CATS 

[Tyrrha]

1 hour ago, coonie77 said:

Actually I wanted to see it but unfortunately I missed it when it was on cinemas in Germany (because the showed it only for a short time period) 

I´ll try to see it maybe by a different source.

 

I never get tired watching CATS 

 

The documentary Kedi is available on Prime Video.

Also, "The Lion in Your Living Room" is very good.