Date:

Ancient Ancestors of Domestic Cat was Opportunistic

An international study by researchers from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has determined that the first known cats in Europe were opportunistic and did not rely directly on humans for survival.

The study reveals that around 6,200 to 4,300 years ago cats survived by hunting wild animals such as rodents and were closely associated with human agriculture.

- Advertisement -

The African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) is the ancestor of all present-day domestic cats. The sandy-colored animals originated on the African continent. “Around 6,000 years ago, the animals also became established in Europe, where they spread as domesticated cats,” explains Prof. Dr. Hervé Bocherens of the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment at the University of Tübingen, and he continues, “The oldest fossils date back about 6,200 years and were discovered in Poland. We asked ourselves how these animals were domesticated after they spread into Europe.”

To answer these questions, Bocherens, together with the study’s lead author, Magdalena Krajcarz of the Nikolaus Kopernikus University in Toruń, Poland, and an international team, measured stable isotopes in the fossilized cats’ bone collagen.

The different isotope ratios allow scientists to make inferences about the animals’ diet. “We examined a total of six cat fossils from discovery sites in Poland. For comparison purposes, we also measured fossils of the oldest known domestic cats from Poland as well as 34 additional animals that occurred alongside the cats in Europe around 6,000 years ago,” explains the scientist from Tübingen.

The study aims to also reconstruct the historical connections between humans and cats by studying the ecology and sociology of the immigrated African wildcats.
The study’s results show that the newly arrived ancestors of the domestic cat did not entirely rely on humans. Bocherens explains, “The bones in the cat fossils contain evidence of rodents that occurred in close association with human agriculture, along with signs of wild prey animals.” These analysis results indicate that the ancestors of modern domestic cats continued to live in the wild and only obtained part of their diet near human habitations. “This means that the animals were not synanthropic, i.e., entirely adapted to humans and their environment, but – contrary to the dogs of that period – led an ‘opportunistic’ lifestyle.

- Advertisement -

When they were unable to find food in the wild, which they had to share with the native European wildcats, they were not averse to foraging in the vicinity of human dwellings,” says Bocherens in summary, and he adds, “The native European wildcats also fed on these rodents, so there really was a direct competition for food between the two forms. However, due to the ample food supply, this apparently did not lead to the displacement of either one of these felines.”

Universität Tübingen

Header Image Credit : Public Domain

- Advertisement -
spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 7,500 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Underwater scans reveal lost submerged landscape

Researchers from the Life on the Edge project, a collaboration between the University of Bradford and the University of Split, has revealed a lost submerged landscape off the coast of Croatia using underwater scans.

Buried L-shaped structure and anomalies detected near Giza Pyramids

A geophysical study by archaeologists from the Higashi Nippon International University, Tohoku University, and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), have detected an L-shaped structure and several anomalies near the Giza Pyramids using geophysics.

Archaeologists search for traces of the “birthplace of Texas”

As part of a $51 million project, archaeologists have conducted a search for traces of Washington-on-the-Brazos, also known as the “birthplace of Texas”.

Archaeologists find moated medieval windmill

Archaeologists from MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology) have uncovered a moated medieval windmill during construction works of the National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvement scheme in Bedfordshire, England.

Archaeologists find preserved Bronze Age wooden well

Archaeologists from Oxford Archaeology have uncovered a well-preserved Bronze Age wooden well in Oxfordshire, England.

Bronze Age treasures stolen from Ely Museum

Thieves have broken into Ely Museum and stolen historical treasures dating from the Bronze Age.

Dune restoration project uncovers intact WWII bunkers

A restoration project to remove invasive plants from dunes in the Heist Willemspark, Belgium, has led to the discovery of three intact WWII bunkers.

Recent findings shed light on the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke

Ongoing excavations by archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have revealed new findings on the historical narrative of the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke.