The modern domestic cat may have originated in the ritual sacrifices of ancient Egypt.

A new study suggests that the domestication of the modern cat may be linked to the sacrificial rituals of ancient Egypt. Around 3,000 years ago, Egyptians mummified cats as offerings to the gods, which may have prompted the mass breeding of more docile and sociable felines to meet this religious demand.

Intensive cat breeding would have favored those with more gentle behaviors, characteristics that later facilitated their trade and expansion outside of Africa. This hypothesis contrasts with the traditional theory that placed the domestication of cats in Europe during the Neolithic, when felines approached human settlements attracted by the rodents that infested crops.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Rome Tor Vergata have analyzed the bones and genomes of ancient cats from Europe, Anatolia, North Africa, and other regions. The results point to a North African origin for Felis catus , ruling out early domestication in the Fertile Crescent or Europe. They also identified two waves of dispersal of domestic cats across the Mediterranean, the first in the first millennium BC and a second that gave rise to present-day populations, reports Science Alert.

The results point to a North African origin for Felis catus.

Although remains of cats associated with humans have been found in Cyprus some 9,500 years ago, researchers caution that these animals do not display clear characteristics of domestication. In fact, the first genetically confirmed domestic cat belongs to a mummified specimen in Egypt around 500 BC.

Experts also point out that religious cults have historically driven the translocation of animals, as was the case with deer and chickens. In Egypt, the goddess Bastet, initially depicted with the head of a lion, came to be represented with the head of an African wild cat, paralleling the rise of cat sacrifices.

Although the studies are pending peer review, these new findings reinforce the idea that the complex and often violent relationship between humans and cats has deep roots in ancient Egyptian religious and cultural history.

A new study suggests that the domestication of the modern cat may be linked to the sacrificial rituals of ancient Egypt. Around 3,000 years ago, Egyptians mummified cats as offerings to the gods, which may have prompted the mass breeding of more docile and sociable felines to meet this religious demand.