Aunty
June 29th, 2007, 20:50
Study Traces CatтАЩs Ancestry to Middle East
Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats.
The rodents that infested the settlersтАЩ homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight.
At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the worldтАЩs 600 million house cats are descended.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/scien ... ref=slogin (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)
Some 10,000 years ago, somewhere in the Near East, an audacious wildcat crept into one of the crude villages of early human settlers, the first to domesticate wheat and barley. There she felt safe from her many predators in the region, such as hyenas and larger cats.
The rodents that infested the settlersтАЩ homes and granaries were sufficient prey. Seeing that she was earning her keep, the settlers tolerated her, and their children greeted her kittens with delight.
At least five females of the wildcat subspecies known as Felis silvestris lybica accomplished this delicate transition from forest to village. And from these five matriarchs all the worldтАЩs 600 million house cats are descended.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/scien ... ref=slogin (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/science/29cat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)