Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication

CORC > 古脊椎动物与古人类研究所 > 中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所 > 古人类及旧石器研究室

	Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication
	Hu, YW（胡耀武）; Hu, SM; Wang, WL; Wu, XH; Marshall, FB; Chen, XL（陈相龙）; Hou, LL（侯亮亮）; Wang, CS（王昌燧）
刊名	PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
	2014
卷号	111 期号:1 页码:111,116-120
关键词	zooarchaeology felid mutualism stable isotopes Quanhucun site
ISSN号	0027-8424
通讯作者	Hu, YW (reprint author), Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Vertebrate Paleontol & Paleoanthropol, Key Lab Vertebrate Evolut & Human Origins, Beijing 100044, Peoples R China.
英文摘要	Domestic cats are one of the most popular pets globally, but the process of their domestication is not well understood. Near Eastern wildcats are thought to have been attracted to food sources in early agricultural settlements, following a commensal pathway to domestication. Early evidence for close human-cat relationships comes from a wildcat interred near a human on Cyprus ca. 9,500 y ago, but the earliest domestic cats are known only from Egyptian art dating to 4,000 y ago. Evidence is lacking from the key period of cat domestication 9,500-4,000 y ago. We report on the presence of cats directly dated between 5560-5280 cal B. P. in the early agricultural village of Quanhucun in Shaanxi, China. These cats were outside the wild range of Near Eastern wildcats and biometrically smaller, but within the size-range of domestic cats. The delta C-13 and delta N-15 values of human and animal bone collagen revealed substantial consumption of millet-based foods by humans, rodents, and cats. Ceramic storage containers designed to exclude rodents indicated a threat to stored grain in Yangshao villages. Taken together, isotopic and archaeological data demonstrate that cats were advantageous for ancient farmers. Isotopic data also show that one cat ate less meat and consumed more millet-based foods than expected, indicating that it scavenged among or was fed by people. This study offers fresh perspectives on cat domestication, providing the earliest known evidence for commensal relationships between people and cats.
收录类别	SCI
资助信息	Chinese Academy of Science Strategic Priority Research Program [XDA05130303]; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Max-Planck Society Partnership Group Project; National Science Foundation in China [41373018]
语种	英语
公开日期	2014-12-12
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://119.78.100.205/handle/311034/5189]
专题	古脊椎动物与古人类研究所_古人类及旧石器研究室
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Hu, YW,Hu, SM,Wang, WL,et al. Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication[J]. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,2014,111(1):111,116-120.
APA	Hu, YW.,Hu, SM.,Wang, WL.,Wu, XH.,Marshall, FB.,...&Wang, CS.(2014).Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication.PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,111(1),111,116-120.
MLA	Hu, YW,et al."Earliest evidence for commensal processes of cat domestication".PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 111.1(2014):111,116-120.