Cat Domestication Traced to China, Shows Study  Get the
WebProNews Newsletter: [ Science]  Though it had long been
assumed that cats were domesticated by the Egyptians,
researchers have now discovered that the animals were first
tamed into pets at least one thousand years earlier.  A new
study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, traces cat domestication to the Chinese
villiage of Quanhucun some 5,300 years ago. Researchers believe
that cats were drawn into close proximity with humans by the
rodents that were attracted to the village by its agriculture.
“Results of this study show that the village of Quanhucun was a
source of food for the cats 5,300 years ago, and the
relationship between humans and cats was commensal, or
advantageous for the cats,” said Fiona Marshall, a co-author of
the study and an archaeologist at Washington University. “Even
if these cats were not yet domesticated, our evidence confirms
that they lived in close proximity to farmers, and that the rel