A photo from open sources
In the elite cemetery of the city of Hierakonpolis (capital Upper Egypt in the era before the Pharaohs) were found cat skeletons. Scientists have suggested that perhaps in ancient Egypt, cats were killed and buried next to people, performing a certain religious ritual or sacrifice. Detected feline remains can push back The date of domestication of these animals in Egypt is almost 2000 years old. New the find includes two skeletons of adult cats and four skeletons kittens. Animal bones are dated between 3600 and 3800 BC. It turns out that the Egyptians tamed cats for about 2000 years earlier than archaeologists have suggested. Excavation manager Rene Friedman discovered cat skeletons near the eastern wall of the cemetery. All six cat graves were in the neighborhood and had the same the dimensions of the pits are 50 centimeters in diameter and about 25 cm in depth. Archaeologists immediately realized that this find is something special, and something special it was fortunate that the skeletons of cats were perfectly preserved. Specialists, analyzing the size and shape of cat jaws, Having studied the teeth and mouths of animals, we came to the conclusion that the age of adult cats at the time of their death was a little over a year, and Kittens are 4-5 months old. The size and shape of the bones suggests that cats belonged to the species Felis (a small wild cat that inhabited in Africa, Europe and Central Asia). Cats were an important part Egyptian life, culture and religion. Around 330 BC the Egyptians not only began to breed these animals, but also worship them as a deity. Although this attitude did not stop bringing cats into as sacrifices, with further mummification. However for in order to get a complete picture of the understanding of origin and Domestication of cats in ancient Egypt, researchers need new archaeological finds of burials, as well as DNA samples ancient egyptian cats. To date, the oldest joint a grave found on Crete, whose age was more than 9,500 years. it burial suggests that at about the same time tame cats began residents of the East Mediterranean region as well Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Not lagging behind in terms of taming of these animals and ancient China. According to research, Domestication of cats in China occurred more than 5300 years ago.
DNA Egypt China Cats
