New Study Suggests Tunisia May Be the Origin of Today’s Domestic Cats
New Study Suggests Tunisia Could Be the Birthplace of Domestic Cats
The origin of domestic cats has long intrigued researchers, with many linking their domestication to the Neolithic period, where they likely accompanied early farmers, spreading across Europe alongside agricultural development. However, recent investigations have raised new questions, suggesting that the birthplace of domestic cats may have been in Tunisia. Two major studies, one led by the University of Rome Tor Vergata and another by the University of Exeter, have proposed that Tunisia could be the key region in the early domestication of cats, adding complexity to the existing theories.
The University of Rome Tor Vergata conducted an extensive paleo-genomic analysis to uncover the origins of domestic cats. Researchers studied specimens from 97 archaeological sites spanning Europe and Anatolia, with additional samples from North Africa, Bulgaria, and Italy. Their findings, published on bioRxiv, involved examining 70 low-coverage ancient genomes, 37 radiocarbon-dated cat remains, and 17 modern and museum genomes. This wide-reaching research sought to track the movement of domestic cats across ancient civilizations and identify their domestication timeline.
The results of the Tor Vergata study revealed that cats with domestic ancestry began appearing in Europe around the first century CE. The research identified two distinct waves of cat introductions: one during the second century BCE, where wildcats from Northwest Africa were brought to Sardinia, and another during the Roman Imperial period. The second wave showed a stronger genetic link to domestic cats found across Europe. Notably, the study highlighted Tunisia as the potential center for the early domestication of these animals, suggesting that the region played a crucial role in their spread into Europe.
Meanwhile, the University of Exeter’s collaborative study, which involved 37 institutions and analyzed 2,416 archaeological field bones from 206 sites, provided further insight into the cat domestication timeline. Their research, published under the title “Redefining the timing and circumstances of cat domestication,” suggested that domestic cats appeared in Europe as early as the first millennium BCE, predating the expansion of the Roman Empire. By cross-referencing genetic and morphological data, the Exeter study further supports the notion that the domestication of cats occurred much earlier than previously believed, with North Africa, and particularly Tunisia, playing a pivotal role in their spread to Europe.
