Cats have been domesticated - Corriere della Sera

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The first relations between men and cats in Cyprus in 7500 to. C., but without domestication

Cats have been domesticated in China

Tests secure domestic felines dating back to 7300 years ago in the remains of a village of Chinese farmers

The first signs of domestication of cats date back to 5,300 a. C. in china Cats stylized in hieroglyphics and pharaohs: the collective imagination of our feline domestication of the house comes from ancient Egypt. Error: the Chinese brought the animal home well before them. This was revealed by a scientific study just published in PNAS. Domestication in China dates back to 5300. C., and it happened on farms around the village of Quanhucun. The reason? That remains a classic, and has a mustache and long tail: the rat. Farmers in ancient China sought the help of the cat to hunt rodents that plundered the fruit crop in storage. And the cats – who were around the fatal attraction thanks to the mice – were being fed by humans with those who wanted to protect from cereals uncontrollable other animals.

IBD AND MEN – It was this particular to provide the key to understanding the international team of researchers led by Yaowu Hu, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Scholars have analyzed the bones of the cat – but also of dog and pig – found in Quanhucun and found that the animals ate the millet grown by local farmers: the demonstration that were fed by humans, unlike the deer, who lived not away and whose bones were also analyzed. One of the unearthed remains of feline also shows that the cat was already an older cat, who was then in all probability lived in the village for a long time.

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CYPRUS Egypt, VIA CHINA – “The village was a source of food for cats over 7000 years ago and the relationship between humans and cats was advantageous for the latter. And even if the cats had not yet been domesticated, the evidence confirms that lived close to the farmers and that the relationship was mutually beneficial, “said Fiona Marshall, of Washington University in St. Louis, co-author of the research. In ancient Egypt, where cats were revered, domestication dates back to “only” 4000 years ago. In fact – without even talking domestication – there is no evidence that the relationship of humans with this animal is even more ancient: in Cyprus has been discovered in a tomb dating back to 7,500. C. in which he was buried beside a wild cat to a human being. This new Chinese study adds an important new step in the history of the domestication of cats, which remains largely obscure, since it is rare to find the remains of feline archaeological sites. The cats that lived in Quanhucun descended from the wild cat of the Near East, but researchers do not know if the species interbred with the place.

FERTILITY FELINA misunderstood – Today in the world there are about 600 million cats and domesticated, although the cat is one of the most popular among domestic animals, errors and myths that the concern is widespread. One of the areas most subject to misunderstanding on the part of the owners is that their fertility. Thing – as well as love for the cat – further contributes to increase their number on the planet according to a study conducted by the School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, and based on a survey covering over 10 thousand households owning cats, this results in England alone 200 thousand litters a year is not provided, or about 850 thousand kittens in homes in more or worse, abandoned on the streets or in shelters. Nothing puppies before the five months between pairs of brothers nonexistent and cats need to have at least one litter before being spayed: these are some of the most common misconceptions identified by the researchers, who point out that it endangers the health of cats and their young.

Carola Traverso Saibanti