hosted by Otis Crandell
In this episode I talk with Claudio Ottoni about the origin and history of domestic cats.
Listen to this episode online:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4WQRXbnOPKGBBKWrb4F5wV
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/id1530678697?i=1000557918879
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/archaeocafe/episodes/archaeocafe-e1h9u1v
Some useful terminology and links
FELIX project
This project analyses cats from 10,000 years ago until the 18th and 19th centuries from archaeological sites in Europe, the Near and Middle East, and North Africa to gain insights into the cat-human relationship. By reconstructing the genomes and the dietary habits of ancient cats, the objective of the project is to reconstruct the unique biological and ecological features that shaped cat domestication, and the dispersal of domestic cats across the globe.
https://www.ercfelix.com/project/
Domestic cat (Felis catus)
A domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat
African wildcat (Felis lybica)
A small wildcat species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. In Cyprus, an African wildcat was found in a burial site next to a human skeleton in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement Shillourokambos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wildcat
European wildcat (Felis silvestris)
A small wildcat species native to continental Europe, Scotland, Turkey and the Caucasus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_wildcat
Hierakonpolis or Nekhen
The religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt (c. 3200–3100 BCE) and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2686 BCE).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekhen
http://www.hierakonpolis-online.org/
Klimonas
An archaeological site in Cyprus dating to the 9th millennium BCE. It is the oldest known farming village in the world.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klimonas
Shillourokambos
A Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) site near Parekklisia, in southern Cyprus. The settlement has four phases and was occupied from the end of the 9th millennium BCE to the second half of the 8th millennium BCE.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillourokambos
Berenike
[a.k.a. Berenice Troglodytica, Baranis]
An ancient seaport of Egypt on the western shore of the Red Sea. It was founded in 275 BCE by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE), who named it after his mother, Berenice I of Egypt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berenice_Troglodytica
Phenotype
An individual’s set of observable characteristics or traits (for example, height, eye color, and blood type). The genetic contribution to the phenotype is called the genotype, or genetic code. Some traits are largely determined by the genotype, while other traits are largely determined by environmental factors.
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Phenotype
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenotype
Selected reading
The Dispersal of the Domestic Cat: Paleogenetic and Zooarcheological Evidence
by Claudio Ottoni and Wim Van Neer
Near Eastern Archaeology, 2020, vol. 83(1), p. 38-45.
https://doi.org/10.1086/707312
The palaeogenetics of cat dispersal in the ancient world
by Claudio Ottoni and others
Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017, vol. 1, article number 0139
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0139
Of cats and men: The paleogenetic history of the dispersal of cats in the ancient world
by Claudio Ottoni and others
bioRxiv, 2016, article number 080028
https://doi.org/10.1101/080028
More evidence for cat taming at the Predynastic elite cemetery of Hierakonpolis (Upper Egypt)
by Wim Van Neer and others
Journal of Archaeological Science, 2014, vol. 45, p. 103-111.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2014.02.014
Early Taming of the Cat in Cyprus
by Jean-Denis Vigne and others
Science, 2004, vol. 304(5668), p. 259.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1095335
The Near Eastern Origin of Cat Domestication
by Carlos A. Driscoll and others
Science, 2007, vol. 317(5837), p. 519-523.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1139518
About Claudio Ottoni
Dr. Ottoni is a professor at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata”. His research interests are in biomolecular archaeology and the study of ancient DNA as a tool to reconstruct the past of human and animal populations. In particular, much of his research has focused on the history of cat-human interactions and particularly through the use of palaeogenetics. He has previously lead research projects at the Center for Archaeological Sciences (CAS) of the KU Leuven University, in Belgium, the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) of the University of Oslo, in Norway, and the Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory (DANTE) of the Sapienza University of Rome, in Italy. Dr. Ottoni is currently the head of the FELIX project, funded by the European Research Council.
Web:
https://uniroma.academia.edu/ClaudioOttoni
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claudio-Ottoni
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0u2SiNQAAAAJ
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8870-1589