Genetic analysis of ancient cat remains has shown that the inhabitants of China interacted with cats much earlier than previously thought, but these were not domestic animals. This conclusion was reached by researchers who published their work in the journal Cell Genomics.
For many years, archaeologists have found cat bones in China dating back about 5,400 years. These finds were traditionally attributed to early domestic cats. However, DNA analysis has changed this understanding: the remains belong to the wild Bengal cat (Prionailurus bengalensis).
Scientists have established that these predators lived near human settlements. They took advantage of available food and shelter but were not domesticated. Bengal cats maintained their independence and moved freely, not under human control.
According to the study, such animals lived alongside humans for a long time — from around 3400 BC until 200 AD. Moreover, researchers found no genetic evidence of interbreeding between wild Bengal cats and domestic ones.
The authors of the study also note that centuries passed between the disappearance of Bengal cats from settlements and the emergence of true domestic cats in China. The earliest archaeological finds definitively related to Felis catus date back to around 730 AD.
Thus, the prolonged coexistence of humans and cats in ancient China occurred without full domestication, and the familiar domestic cats appeared in the region much later.
