Pet Cats Arrived in China Between A.D. 600 and 900

SHAANXI, CHINA—How and when domestic cats arrived in China has long been a mystery that has baffled experts. According to a LiveScience report, a study that analyzed cat DNA revealed that traders and diplomats likely first brought the pets with them along the Silk Road 1,400 years ago. Archaeological evidence has previously shown that prior to the arrival of domestic cats, some ancient Chinese communities lived alongside native leopard cats as far back as 5,400 years ago. However, the scholars who conducted this new research noted that this could hardly be considered domestication. The recent study, the most comprehensive of its kind ever undertaken, analyzed 22 sets of feline remains across 14 archaeological sites in China spanning a period of 5,000 years. Fourteen of the 22 skeletons proved to be from domesticated cats, the oldest of which was found in Tongwan City in Shaanxi and dated to a.d. 730. Scientists determined that the DNA of these felines closely matched that of a cat previously discovered in Dhzankent, Kazakhstan. They now believe that beginning around a.d. 600, domesticated cats were transported in small cages from the eastern Mediterranean through Central Asia and eventually to China along the Silk Road. These mostly all-white cats were given as gifts or tribute to members of the Chinese elite. “Cats were initially regarded as prized, exotic pets," said Peking University’s Shu-Jin Luo. “Cats' mysterious behaviors—alternating between distant and affectionate—added an air of mystique.” Read the original scholarly article about this research in BioRxiv. To read about a complete lynx skeleton buried beneath four canines at an ancient Hungarian settlement, go to "Like Cats and Dogs."