Ray Moscow
04 Jun 2009, 11:59 AM
There's a good article in June's SciAm -- some of the info I had already read elsewhere, but there's some new stuff as well.
The Evolution of House Cats (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-taming-of-the-cat)
Experts traditionally thought that the Egyptians were the first to domesticate the cat, some 3,600 years ago.
But recent genetic and archaeological discoveries indicate that cat domestication began in the Fertile Crescent, perhaps around 10,000 years ago, when agriculture was getting under way.
The Evolution of House Cats (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-taming-of-the-cat)
Experts traditionally thought that the Egyptians were the first to domesticate the cat, some 3,600 years ago.
But recent genetic and archaeological discoveries indicate that cat domestication began in the Fertile Crescent, perhaps around 10,000 years ago, when agriculture was getting under way.