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The first domestic cat came China during tang dynasty Ruled between 618AD and 907AD, possibly linked to Eurasian trade routes silk RoadAccording to a new DNA study.
Cat bones found at archaeological sites have long shown that cats lived alongside sugar farming in communities stone AgeBut a new DNA analysis of remains dating back more than 5,000 years shows that the earliest cats were native leopard cats, not domestic cats,
The analysis showed that domestic cats, descended from the Near East African wildcat, arrived in China much later.
Researchers analyzed the DNA of 22 feline individuals taken from 14 archaeological sites spanning the period from the Yangshao culture of 5,400 years ago to the 20th century, and found that the cats living near early farming communities for more than 3,500 years were not domesticated, but wild leopard cats.
Leopard cats, which hunted rodents, thrived around human settlements from at least 5,400 years ago until 150 AD, the researchers said.
According to the study published in the journal, the first domestic cats did not come to China from Eurasia until the medieval era. cell genomics,
Researchers date the oldest domestic cat remains in China to 706-883 AD. These remains were found in the Tongwan City archaeological site in Shaanxi, and show the maternal lineage of the Near East African wildcat.
Analysis found that this cat had short hair and was probably white or spotted with white.
“After a gap of several centuries, the oldest known domestic cat in China, dating to AD 730, which was completely or partially reconstructed as the white cat, was identified in Shaanxi during the Tang Dynasty,” the researchers said.
The genetic signature of the medieval feline was similar to that of contemporary cats from Kazakhstan, confirming that domestic cats spread into China via the Silk Road routes.
The study provides the first detailed genetic timeline of the introduction of cats into China, showing how domesticated species spread and integrated into human society.
It also highlights how global trade networks, particularly the Silk Road, played a role not only in the transportation of goods and ideas but also in the spread of animal species.
“Genomic analysis combining 130 modern and ancient Eurasian cat samples,” the new study concluded, “suggests an origin of Chinese domestic cats from the Levant and trader-mediated dispersal via the Silk Road.”