27. Archaeological Find Sheds Light on the Domestication of Cats
It was widely assumed until relatively recently, based on available evidence, that wild cats were domesticated into common household cats in Ancient Egypt around 4,000 years ago. However, new archaeological discoveries indicate that the first domestication of cats probably happened in China. Feline bones unearthed in the Chinese agricultural village of Quanhucun, in Shaanxi, reveal that cats lived there alongside humans about 5,300 years ago. As researchers discovered from the archaeological evidence, the farmers’ grains attracted rodents, which led to an unwelcome pest infestation. Ceramic storage containers from the period, specially designed to keep rodents out of the farmers’ grain stocks, indicate that the infestation was serious.
The rodents, in turn, attracted wild cats to the village. Thus was born a three-way relationship that led to the domestication of wild cats. Farmers harvested and stored grain in their villages. The stored grain attracted rodents to the village. The rodents in turn attracted wild cats to the village. The farmers observed that the wild cats preyed upon the rodents, so they tolerated the felines’ presence in their villages and even encouraged them to stick around. Eventually, with the passage of time and over many generations, the wild cats’ descendants became domestic cats.