For millennia, house cats have been intertwined with human communities. In this post, you will find the YouTube video exploring the archaeology of house cats and a full video transcript (with relevant references and links).
YouTube Video
YouTube Video Transcript
Here, you will find the complete transcript of the video in the previous section with hyperlinked references/citations.
Introduction
For millennia, house cats have been intertwined with human communities. Sometimes, they were our companions. Other times, they hunted pesky pests. And in other instances, they were considered pests themselves. Despite these varying roles, house cats have had a significant influence on human societies throughout history.
Hi, I’m Dr. Smiti Nathan, and I’m an archaeologist. In this video, we’re going to explore the fascinating influence of house cats in the ancient world and beyond. So let’s get into it.
Oldest evidence of cats
So you might be asking, how long have house cats been around? As is often the case with archaeology, it’s complicated and there are two main reasons for this.
First, is domestication. Animal domestication entails changes in human-animal relationships, as well as both behavioral and morphological changes in the animal. So that means that as humans and certain wildcats interacted over time, those cats underwent both behavioral and physical changes. Now, domestication is a process and it takes time, so while we definitely do find archaeological remains of the domesticated Felis catus, we also find wild cat remains that suggest a house cat relationship with humans.
For example, let’s go to Cyprus. Archaeologists found a bone belonging to the wild cat Felis lybica. This find was interesting for two reasons. First, cats are not native to Cyprus, so this find suggests cats were intentionally brought to the island. Second, this cat bone dates to around 10,600 years ago, making it one of the oldest known evidence of interaction between humans and cats that we have so far.
So for this video, as in all our videos, we’re going to take into account the context in which cat remains are found, as well as the physiological differences distinguishing domesticated and wild cat species.
That leads us to the second challenge in identifying house cats in the archaeological record. Unlike other animals like cattle or dogs, it’s more difficult to tell the skeletal difference between domesticated house cats and their wild counterparts because they look very similar. In fact, the most easily observed differences between modern domestic cats and wild cats are coat color and patterns, which are traits you can’t really see in bones. However, carefully measuring bones can help with subtle skeletal differences and that’s how archaeologists were able to identify the cat bone in Cyprus.
But there is actually another method that archaeologists are increasingly turning to in order to better understand the ancient origins of house cats: mitochondrial DNA analysis.
mtDNA refers to the genetic material contained within the mitochondria of cells that is passed through the maternal line. mtDNA is typically more useful than nuclear DNA analysis because the mitochondria contain potentially thousands of copies of their genes, instead of just the two copies found in the nucleus. mtDNA can reveal detailed information about the unique mutations in genetic codes, and by aggregating data from many individuals, scientists can trace the history of where and how certain mutations developed.
When it comes to archaeology, recent studies of specimens recovered from sites across Asia, Africa, and Europe have made headway in mapping out the phylogenetic tree of the domestic cat. Based on this research, archaeologists have found five distinct subspecies of wild cat that contribute to the modern gene pool of domestic cats (European wildcat, Southern African wildcat, Central Asian wildcat, Near Eastern wildcat, and Chinese desert cat). This suggests that cats were likely domesticated in different regions independently.
And this mtDNA work is already rewriting what we know about ancient house cats.
For example, let’s go to ancient Egypt, a place and time where house cats had an enduring presence and influence. Archaeologists have recovered many cat mummies from tombs, and multiple studies have demonstrated these were likely mummified domesticated cats rather than their wild counterparts. And, of course, one of the most important Egyptian deities, Bastet, was depicted as a cat or with cat body parts.
We thought that house cats were first domesticated in Egypt around 6,000 years ago However, more recent research suggests that this may not be true. In fact, these cats probably descended from wild cats in the Levant (Felis silvestris lybica), and were likely domesticated even earlier and quickly spread elsewhere in Asia and into Europe.
Archaeologists recently used mtDNA to find that there were likely two main waves of house cat introduction from the Near East into central Europe: the first in the Neolithic period around 7,500 years ago, and the second in the Roman period about 2,000 years ago. They found a coincidence of cat remains with Near Eastern DNA with a peak of Neolithic period settlement in what is now Poland.
This suggests that cats moved into the region alongside early farmers and served an important role.
Cats With Jobs
And that brings up an important point. House cats actually had different roles in societies around the world and across time, thus influencing people and societies in different ways. Scholars suggest that, in many cases, the relationship between house cats and humans was commensal, or mutually beneficial.
For an example of this, let’s go to an archaeological site (Quanhucun) in the Shaanxi province of China. Here, archaeologists recovered 5,300 year old cat and rodent bones. Now it’s important to note that there was some debate surrounding these cat remains. The authors of the original study thought that these cats were related to Near Eastern wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) and likely would have been introduced via trade; however, a later study re-examined the bones using morphometric analysis and concluded they belonged to native leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis).
Even with this debate, the original isotope analysis of the cat remains revealed something interesting. The cats seem to have eaten a diet rich in millet, a grain grown by humans at the site. The archaeologists suggest that these cats helped farmers by hunting rodents that ate their grain, and in return, got a relatively stable food source. Some of the remains even suggest that certain cats might have been cared for by humans.
This study showcases one of the earliest archaeological examples we have of the mutually beneficial relationships between humans and cats.
Cats as Pets
Even though house cats often had jobs, people in some places were not immune to their charms. There is quite a lot of archaeological evidence to show that people cared for house cats and treated them like pets.
For example, in the early medieval city of Dzhankent (also pronounced: Yangikent), Kazakhstan, archaeologists found thousand-year-old bones that belonged to a domestic cat. After analyzing the bones, archaeologists found that this ancient cat had quite a few health issues, including fractures, hip dysplasia, inflammation, and periodontal disease that led to tooth loss.
This poor kitty had a myriad of medical maladies; however, isotope analysis revealed something interesting. This particular cat had a high-protein diet, and the archaeologists think that humans intentionally took care of him because he wouldn’t have been able to survive by himself for long. This discovery is compelling for a few reasons.
First, it represents the earliest known evidence of domesticated cats in this region. It pushes back the timeline by a millennium to sometime between 775–940 cal CE. So it sheds light on the early history of cat domestication in Central Asia.
Second, the presence of this house cat that was actively cared for suggests that this settlement, despite its isolated steppe location, was part of extensive trade networks, including the Silk Road. This discovery not only hints at the trade of animals along the Silk Road, but the exchange of ideas and diverse worldviews about animals.
So through this study, we get a glimpse of how past humans have cared for–and dare I say, loved– house cats.
Cats as Pests?
However, in other places and times, the relationship with house cats was likely more complicated. In medieval Qalhāt, Oman, archaeologists recovered nearly 500 domestic cat bones from various buildings. It’s unclear whether the animals were considered pets, strays, or a combination of both.
The study’s author has two primary hypotheses to account for these remains, many of which belonged to young cats with poor health.
The first is natural causes, such as a disease like feline parvovirus, and the second is human’s intentionally culling the city’s stray cat population.
While one or both of these hypotheses could certainlybe true, this doesn’t automatically mean that people in this place and time thought all cats were pests. Many inhabitants of Medieval Qalhāt were likely Muslim, and in Islam, house cats are considered a ritually pure animal and are often welcomed into home areas more readily than other animals, like dogs. So we can’t rule out that some cats may have been treated as pets.
Cats as Symbols
And While the status of house cats in Medieval Qalhāt is complicated, cats had various symbolic associations and meanings in other places and times – including religious associations
I already mentioned Bastet, the ancient Egyptian goddess, but You may also remember from our ancient love deities video that the Norse goddess Freya was closely associated with house cats–in fact, she rode a chariot pulled by 12 kitties.
In Medieval England, cats were linked to witchcraft, while at other times, they were associated with Christian monasteries and religious spaces. In fact, the cat’s unusual place in medieval English society was captured in one of Aldhelm’s 17th-century riddles. One translation reads as follows:
“Trustworthy enough, I am a watchful warden guarding the hall; in dark nights I wander its shady nooks, not losing the light of my eyes even in black caves. I silently, with snares, arrange deadly traps for detested/unseen thieves, who lay waste to stores of grain. A roving huntress, I will search beasts’ dens, but I am not willing to chase fleeing hordes with hounds, who, barking at me, incite bitter battles. The hateful race gave me the name I have.”
The original answer is the Latin word “Muriceps”, which translates to “mouse-catcher” and is associated with a cat.
Scholars have pointed out how this riddle captures the enigmatic spirit of cats through its choice of imagery and language that emphasizes stealth, subtlety, and an air of independent mystery.
Outro
So from hunting pests in early agricultural communities to being deified in places like Ancient Egypt, house cats have played varied and significant roles in human societies across time and the world. Using diverse methods like morphometry, mtDNA, isotopes, and textual analyses has deepened our understanding of house cats in the archaeological record. Whether they were considered god-like, pest hunters, pest-themselves, pets, or some combination, these furry little creatures have left paw prints across human history. They’ve influenced us in ways that we may not always immediately recognize.
Now if you are interested in learning more about what animals can tell us about life in the past, check out this video here. That’s all for this video, and we’ll catch you in the next one. Bye!!
Credits
Anya Gruber: Researcher, Scriptwriter
Noor Hanania: Lead Video Editor
Smiti Nathan: Director, Co-Producer, Support Video Editor, Scriptwriter
Brooke Norton: Researcher
Special thanks to Pam Crabtree for checking a previous version of this video’s script and offering invaluable feedback. Also, thank you Christine Mikeska for providing clarification surrounding house cats and ancient Egypt. Also, thank you to @gabchomp & @Katharine_Chen for their thumbnail help.
If you enjoyed this post, check out my channel and other videos.