Cat fossils found in China reveal early days of feline domestication
Source: Los Angeles Times
Cat fossils found in China reveal early days of feline domestication
By Monte Morin
December 16, 2013, 6:24 p.m.
Archaeologists in China have unearthed the first clear evidence of cats living among humans as semi-domesticated mousers about 5,300 years ago, a heretofore missing link in the history of the world's most popular pet, experts say.
The evidence, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, supports the long-held view that cats began their symbiotic relationship with people following the advent of agriculture, many thousands of years after dogs were tamed by nomadic hunter-gatherers.
The discovery fills in an enormous gap in experts' understanding of cat domestication, but it has also thrown them for a curve. In some ways, an ancient Chinese village is the last place researchers expected to find such evidence.
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