Domestication of cats began 5300 years - Reuters

Scientific Study

Domestication of cats began 5300 years

Researchers have found new evidence on the relationship between domestic animals and humans.

class=”author By: FS

A University of Washington suggests that domestication of cats began 5300 years ago, when animals, even wild, moved to Chinese villages looking for food. The findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’.

For this study eight bones were analyzed, which scientists believe to belong to at least two animals. The bones were found in an archaeological dig in the village of Quanhucun in Northwest China, inhabited by farmers at that time.

According to research, some of the products stored by farmers attract small rodents, followed by wild cats. The animals have adapted to the habits of humans become more docile and integrated into the community.

The researchers argue that the region’s farmers welcomed and treated the cats since they protected their crops from rodents. These conclusions are based on the discovery of chemical traces of rodents and agricultural products recovered in the bones.

Until now, the oldest evidence of domestication of cats was the presence of animals, along with human figures in Egyptian engravings of about 4000 years.