New research suggests that domestic cats first appeared in China around 600 CE, likely arriving via the Silk Road trade route. The study, which analyzed 22 feline remains from 14 archaeological sites in China, found that fourteen of the bones belonged to domestic cats. Researchers sequenced nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and discovered a specific genetic marker known as clade IV-B. This genetic signature matches data from a cat that lived between 775 and 940 CE in Jankent, Kazakhstan, indicating a close genetic relationship and supporting the hypothesis that domestic cats were transported along the Silk Road.
DNA analysis indicates that domestic cats were brought to China by Silk Road traders, with evidence suggesting they were transported in small cages from the Eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia around 600 CE. This aligns with the peak period of Silk Road trade between 500 CE and 800 CE, suggesting that merchants likely transported domestic cats to East Asia along this route.
"Initially, cats were considered valuable exotic pets," said study co-author Shu-Jin Luo, according to Live Science. Upon their arrival, domestic cats quickly gained popularity among the local elite in China, being considered luxury and exotic animals valued at royal courts.
Previously, it was believed that cats were domesticated in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago and spread to Europe approximately 3,000 years ago, according to Newsam. Modern domestic cats (Felis catus) evolved from the African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), which began living alongside humans in the Middle East. Since their domestication, cats have spread to nearly all continents.
Prior to the arrival of domestic cats, archaeological evidence shows that people in rural Chinese communities lived alongside native leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis). However, researchers argue that the relationship between humans and leopard cats was not equivalent to domestication. Researchers have found leopard cat bones dating to 5,400 years ago in an ancient farming village in Shaanxi province, indicating that humans and cats co-existed in settlements.
Previously, it was thought that cats were domesticated in China during the Han Dynasty period (206 BCE–220 CE), but the absence of any domestic cat remains from this period led researchers to reassess this belief. Not long ago, scientists wondered whether some cats were domesticated in China itself, but the Quanhucun cats were found to be unrelated to today's domestic cats, all of which evolved from the African wildcat in the Middle East.
These traders and officials brought just a handful of domestic cats to China, offering them as tribute to members of the elite. The cats that merchants and diplomats initially gifted to the Chinese elite were likely all-white cats or mackerel-tabby cats with white patches. Even today, Chinese cats have more white fur than their counterparts elsewhere in the world.
Ancient Chinese people even conducted special rituals when bringing a cat into the house, considering it an honored guest rather than just property. Domestic cats became so popular following their introduction to China that people incorporated them into Chinese folk religion, viewing them as sacred.
The study, which was uploaded to the preprint database BioRxiv and has not yet been peer-reviewed, involved DNA sequencing of the cat remains to determine each species. "This is by far the largest and most comprehensive study on small felids living closely with humans in China," said study co-author Luo. "Assembling the archaeological samples of cat remains from China across this time period was a highly challenging task," Luo added.
"A complete re-evaluation of when and how domestic cats came to China is required," the researchers said in the study.
"Based on what we know, this route makes the most sense," noted Katherine Brunson, a zooarchaeologist from Wesleyan University who was not involved in the study.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.