Domestication of cat
|
-
The cat is a member of the order Carnivora, which includes a diverse group of animals that are all predatory.
-
Carnivores are so named because of their enlarged carnassial teeth, which include the enlarge upper fourth premolar and the lower first molar on each side of the mouth.
-
The description of domestication adequately describes most domestic species such as dogs, horses, cattle and goats, but does not provide a completely adequate explanation for Felis catus.
-
It is difficult to identify the exact time period of domestication for this species.
-
The oldest archaeological evidence is in the form of a cat’s tooth that was found in a settlement area near Israel approximately 9000 years ago.
-
A more significant find was the fissile remains of a large cat on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
-
The remains of this cat are estimated to be about 7000 to 8000 years old.
-
The earliest consistent evidence of domestic cats in human settlement is found in Egyptian tombs dated around 4000 BC.
|
/td>
/tr>/tbody>
/table>
Last modified: Thursday, 7 June 2012, 10:36 AM