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Cats Conquered the World: Thanks, Romans!
28 Nov, 2025
Summary
- Ancient DNA study shows cats were domesticated 3,500 years ago in North Africa.
- Roman traders introduced domestic cats to Europe approximately 2,000 years ago.
- Modern cats descend from African wildcats, not Levantine wildcats as previously thought.
Recent scientific findings, utilizing ancient DNA analysis, suggest that the domestication of cats occurred approximately 3,500 years ago in North Africa. This discovery challenges previous assumptions that cats were domesticated around 10,000 years ago in the Levant. The research tracked feline remains from numerous archaeological sites across Europe and the Near East.
It was the Roman traders who facilitated the introduction of domestic cats to Europe around 2,000 years ago. These cats, descendants of the African wildcat, were likely brought aboard grain ships to control rodent populations. This migration spread them rapidly across the continent, including to regions like Sardinia and eventually Britain with the Roman legions.
This new understanding highlights the swift global expansion of domestic cats, evolving from African wildcats into beloved companions. The study also contrasts this with the domestication timeline in China, where leopard cats coexisted with humans for millennia before domestic cats arrived via the Silk Road around 700 AD.
