Ancestors of domestic cats in Neolithic Central Europe: Isotopic evidence of a synanthropic diet.

ABSTRACT: Cat remains from Poland dated to 4,200 to 2,300 y BCE are currently the earliest evidence for the migration of the Near Eastern cat (NE cat), the ancestor of domestic cats, into Central Europe. This early immigration preceded the known establishment of housecat populations in the region by around 3,000 y. One hypothesis assumed that NE cats followed the migration of early farmers as synanthropes. In this study, we analyze the stable isotopes in six samples of Late Neolithic NE cat bones and further 34 of the associated fauna, including the European wildcat. We approximate the diet and trophic ecology of Late Neolithic felids in a broad context of contemporary wild and domestic animals and humans. In addition, we compared the ecology of Late Neolithic NE cats with the earliest domestic cats

SUBMITTER: Krajcarz M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7395498 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature