Ancient Chinese Cat Bones Shed Light on Origins of Domesticated Felines

We all know that cats today can make wonderful pets, curling up in laps and chasing laser pointers. But when did these felines first become domesticated, and how? Scientists have traced back the lineage of domestic cats to farmers in the ancient Chinese village of Quanhucun, revealing how the cats we know and love today first emerged.

Cat remains are rarely found at archaeological sites and very little is known exactly how they were domesticated. Previously, researchers assumed that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt where they were kept about 4,000 years ago. Yet more recent research suggests that this domestication occurred far earlier; a wild cat was found buried with a human nearly 10,000 years ago in Cyprus.

"At least three different lines of scientific inquiry allow us to tell a story about cat domestication that is reminiscent of the old 'house that Jack built' nursery rhyme," said Fiona Marshall, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Our data suggest that cats were attracted to ancient farming villages by small animals, such as rodents that were living on the grain that the farmers grew, ate and stored."

In fact, researchers uncovered evidence of cat domestication in China. More specifically, they found eight bones from at least two cats from an archaeological site. Using radiocarbon dating and isotopic analyses of carbon and nitrogen traces in the bones, the research team showed how a breed of once-wild cats carved a niche for themselves in this farming society.

In fact, the carbon isotopes indicate that rodents, domestic dogs and pigs from the ancient village were eating millet, but deer were not. Cats, in contrast, were preying on the animals that lived on farmed millet--probably rodents. At the same time, an ancient rodent burrow into a storage pit and the rodent-proof design of grain storage pots indicated that farmers had problems with rodents.

That said, researchers still aren't sure exactly where the first domestic cats originated. Yet these new findings do show that cats took advantage of farming communities and that this is likely where some of the first domesticated felines emerged.

"We do not know whether these cats came to China from the Near East, whether they interbred with Chinese wild-cat species, or even whether cats from China played a previous unsuspected role in domestication," said Marshall in a news release.

Currently, the researchers are examining cats a bit more closely in order to find out whether or not they did originate in China. The findings could eventually lead researchers to discover the true origin of our feline companions of today.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.