DNA Analysis Of Egyptian Cat Mummies Is Helping Scientists Map Out The Factors That Drove Feline Domestication
The DNA from archaeological cat remains is being tested in an effort to solve the mystery of cat domestication. Scientists have known for a while that feline domestication has come about in a way that is much different compared to other animals.
A team of researchers is analyzing over 1,300 samples of cats from notable museum collections to learn more about the history of the relationship between cats and humans.
“Cats are really peculiar in a way because they have adapted a lot to humans, but without really changing their nature,” said Dr. Claudio Ottoni, a paleogeneticist from the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy.
“Even physically, a wild cat and a domestic cat are not that different. Cats have been very successful evolutionarily and adapted very well to the human niche, which is fascinating.”
The archaeological samples were found in more than 80 different sites across Europe, Africa, and southwest Asia. They range from before 10,000 B.C. to the 18th century.
By studying the genetic information from these ancient cat remains, the researchers hope to be able to map out the biological and environmental factors that drove cat domestication. Their work could reveal when and where domestic cats first appeared in regions around the world.
The research team tested the cat remains using advanced techniques. For instance, they ground up tiny fragments of bone and teeth into powder and extracted DNA from it.
Next, they turned the DNA into a collection of overlapping fragments that make up the total genomic DNA of an organism when put all together.
Then, they used next-generation sequencing to quickly process large amounts of data. The advanced technology will help make it easier to detect patterns of genetic mutations over time. These mutations are markers of the different stages of cat domestication.
sweetlaniko – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual cats – pictured above are cats in a cat house
In addition, the team is employing the chemical analysis of collagen to investigate how cats’ diets changed over time.
For many years, scientists thought that cat domestication began in ancient Egypt due to the many images of cats in Egyptian art and the discoveries of mummified cats that were offered to deities.
However, in 2004, the discovery of an ancient burial of a young man and a cat in Cyprus suggested that cats were domesticated as early as 11,000 years ago.
So far, the results of the DNA analysis being carried out by Ottoni and colleagues have led them to believe that domestic cats in Europe began associating with humans in North Africa. They may have traveled to Europe with Romans trading across the Mediterranean Sea.
“If everything started around 10,000 years ago, we would expect to see cats introduced into Europe soon after, as we find with pigs and other animal domesticates,” Ottoni said.
“But our DNA analysis shows that cats in Europe were still wild cats—none are genetically originated from the domesticated strain of cat until much later, around 2,500 years ago.”
For the final phase of the study, the researchers are examining Egyptian cat mummies. When six complete cat skeletons from a 6,000-year-old tomb were evaluated, they found that the animals were tamed but not fully domesticated.
It is possible that such attempts to control cats eventually gave way to domestication. Hopefully, the new advanced sequencing technology that the team has at their disposal will help expose further details of the domestic cat’s background.
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