A research team led byEva-Maria Geigl, an evolutionary geneticist and the Jacques Monod Institute inParis, analyzed mitochondrial DNA fromover 200 cat remains found atmore than30 archeological sites acrossEurope, the Middle East and Africa. Mitochondrial DNA is only inherited throughthe maternal line. The samples taken date fromthe Mesolithic period (15,000 BC) upto the 18th century.
Researchers distinguished two distinct waves ofgrowth ofdomestic cat populations: the first one occurred around10,000 years ago when humans first started cultivating crops, and second one happened when mankind took tothe seas.
Cats were first approached bymankind around12,000 years ago amidthe dawn ofagriculture inthe Fertile Crescent. Some 6,000 years ago, cats may have been tamed byAncient Egyptians only tobe mummified bythe millions bylater dynasties. The same How to get rid of mice DNA lineage was later found inancient cat remains inBulgaria, Turkey and sub-Saharan Africa fromthe end ofthe fourth century BC throughthe fourth century AD.
The initial rise indomestic cat populations was based onagricultural progress. Granaries drew hordes ofrodents, which subsequently became food forslinky felines. Ancient humans probably welcomed the new arrivals asan effective-yet-lovable means oferadicating mice who were eating away attheir crops. A second population explosion seemed tocoincide withthe advent ofboat travel. Again, cats served toprotect invaluable victuals fromrats and mice that spawned onboard. Even Vikings, though infamous forbeing stern, seaworthy coastal raiders, were not averse tohaving a kitty onboard their longboats, the study showed.
The researchers found cat remains withmaternal DNA lineage ata Viking site innorthern Germany. "Sea-faring people probably kept cats tokeep rodents incheck," Geigl told the science journal Nature.
A cat bone dating back to200 AD was http://www.badbedbugs.com/ found ina grave withburnt human remains nearKastrup insouthern Jutland, Denmark, which suggests that it was used asa symbolic amulet withprotective value.
It is highly likely that Scandinavians only picked upon the wide popularity ofthe domestic cat afterthey had begun coming intocontact withother cultures duringViking Age exploration, such asthe British Isles, where cats were already widely used forpest control. Subsequently cats made it toIceland and even acrossthe ocean toGreenland, which was inhabited byVikings aroundthe year 1000.
During the Viking age, cats were rare, expensive, and connected withFreyja, the Norse goddess oflove, who had a carriage driven bya pair ofmale cats. Another mythological instance ofthe cat was used asa camouflage tolure hammer-wielding god ofthunder Thor, who was asked tolift giant Utgard-Loki's cat, which later turned outto be the dreadful Midgard Serpent indisguise.
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://sputniknews.com/art_living/20160923/1045629221/viking-cats-dna-study.html&ct=ga&cd=CAIyHDNhNWE2YmU5OWJhNDU2ZTY6Y28udWs6ZW46R0I&usg=AFQjCNFPeF7FcuHmmyzb5o3ew2Rh0TWHpQ
Researchers distinguished two distinct waves ofgrowth ofdomestic cat populations: the first one occurred around10,000 years ago when humans first started cultivating crops, and second one happened when mankind took tothe seas.
Cats were first approached bymankind around12,000 years ago amidthe dawn ofagriculture inthe Fertile Crescent. Some 6,000 years ago, cats may have been tamed byAncient Egyptians only tobe mummified bythe millions bylater dynasties. The same How to get rid of mice DNA lineage was later found inancient cat remains inBulgaria, Turkey and sub-Saharan Africa fromthe end ofthe fourth century BC throughthe fourth century AD.
The initial rise indomestic cat populations was based onagricultural progress. Granaries drew hordes ofrodents, which subsequently became food forslinky felines. Ancient humans probably welcomed the new arrivals asan effective-yet-lovable means oferadicating mice who were eating away attheir crops. A second population explosion seemed tocoincide withthe advent ofboat travel. Again, cats served toprotect invaluable victuals fromrats and mice that spawned onboard. Even Vikings, though infamous forbeing stern, seaworthy coastal raiders, were not averse tohaving a kitty onboard their longboats, the study showed.
The researchers found cat remains withmaternal DNA lineage ata Viking site innorthern Germany. "Sea-faring people probably kept cats tokeep rodents incheck," Geigl told the science journal Nature.
A cat bone dating back to200 AD was http://www.badbedbugs.com/ found ina grave withburnt human remains nearKastrup insouthern Jutland, Denmark, which suggests that it was used asa symbolic amulet withprotective value.
It is highly likely that Scandinavians only picked upon the wide popularity ofthe domestic cat afterthey had begun coming intocontact withother cultures duringViking Age exploration, such asthe British Isles, where cats were already widely used forpest control. Subsequently cats made it toIceland and even acrossthe ocean toGreenland, which was inhabited byVikings aroundthe year 1000.
During the Viking age, cats were rare, expensive, and connected withFreyja, the Norse goddess oflove, who had a carriage driven bya pair ofmale cats. Another mythological instance ofthe cat was used asa camouflage tolure hammer-wielding god ofthunder Thor, who was asked tolift giant Utgard-Loki's cat, which later turned outto be the dreadful Midgard Serpent indisguise.
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://sputniknews.com/art_living/20160923/1045629221/viking-cats-dna-study.html&ct=ga&cd=CAIyHDNhNWE2YmU5OWJhNDU2ZTY6Y28udWs6ZW46R0I&usg=AFQjCNFPeF7FcuHmmyzb5o3ew2Rh0TWHpQ