{"id":34,"date":"2026-05-04T21:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T21:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infotec03.ghsvids.org\/anavarro\/?page_id=34"},"modified":"2026-05-05T21:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T21:43:11","slug":"domestication","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/infotec03.ghsvids.org\/anavarro\/evolution-of-cats\/domestication\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestication"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It was long thought that the domestication of the cat began in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated from around 3100 BCE.[38][39] However, the earliest known indication for the taming of an African wildcat was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave in Shillourokambos, southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500\u20137200 BCE. Since there is no evidence of native mammalian fauna on Cyprus, the inhabitants of this Neolithic village most likely brought the cat and other wild mammals to the island from the Middle Eastern mainland.[40] Scientists therefore assume that African wildcats were attracted to early human settlements in the Fertile Crescent by rodents, in particular the house mouse (Mus musculus), and were tamed by Neolithic farmers. This mutual relationship between early farmers and tamed cats lasted thousands of years. As agricultural practices spread, so did tame and domesticated cats.[37][41] Wildcats of Egypt contributed to the maternal gene pool of the domestic cat at a later time.[42]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The earliest known evidence for the occurrence of the domestic cat in Greece dates to around 1200 BCE. Greek, Phoenician, Carthaginian and Etruscan traders introduced it to southern Europe.[43] By the 5th century BCE, it was a familiar animal around settlements in Magna Graecia and Etruria.[44] During the Roman Empire, it was introduced to Corsica and Sardinia.[45] By the end of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the Egyptian domestic cat lineage had arrived in a Baltic Sea port in northern Germany.[42]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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