Overview
- Scientists reconstructed 70 ancient genomes from 225 cat specimens across Europe and Anatolia, comparing them with modern and museum wildcats.
- All purported prehistoric European ‘domestic’ cats tested were European wildcats, with the first true domestic cat genomes in Europe dating to the Roman era.
- Genetic evidence points to rapid spread across the Roman world, likely through maritime grain trade and military networks.
- Sardinia’s wildcats derive from a distinct northwest African lineage introduced roughly 2,200 years ago and are not feral domestic cats.
- A companion study in China finds long commensalism with leopard cats, with true domestic cats arriving about 1,300 years ago via Silk Road contacts.