Scientists talked about the role of the Roman army in the spread of domestic cats in Europe

Domestic cats appeared in Europe about two thousand years ago, their spread was facilitated by the military roads of the Roman Empire. This was reported by Popular Science magazine on December 1.

According to the study, the genomes of 70 ancient cats found in the archaeological layers of Europe and Turkey showed that modern domestic cats appeared in Europe much later than previously thought. Unlike dogs, which have lived alongside humans for more than 20,000 years, cats began to integrate into European societies only during the Roman Empire.

Archaeological evidence suggests that humans began interacting with cats about 9,500 years ago in the Levant, parts of the modern Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, when crops attracted rodents and wild cats came to hunt. By 7,500 BC, cats were already a part of the life of the inhabitants of Cyprus. In ancient Egypt, about 3.5 thousand years ago, cats became a cultural symbol associated with the goddess Bastet, who personified protection and fertility.

New genetic work has shown that cats imported from North Africa spread across Europe via Roman military routes. Soldiers used animals to control rodents, similar to the practices of Neolithic farmers. Domestic cats had reached Britain by the 1st century AD. At the same time, the earlier cats of Europe and Turkey were European wild species, and hybridization explains their genetic differences.

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All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.