Royal Egyptians Influenced Cat Domestication

A study in Nature Ecology & Evolution (June 2025) sequenced 87 ancient and modern cat genomes, tracing wildcat ancestry to North Africa—likely Egypt—not Neolithic farming sites  . Researchers propose that mass cat mummifications and breeding tied to the Bastet cult in Egypt selected for tamer traits. These domestic cats then spread via Mediterranean trade in the first millennium BCE and into Roman times, outcompeting wildcats. This shifts the origin story of cats from passive commensalism in Europe to active cultural domestication in Egypt.

📖 Read more:
• ScienceAlert recap – mass cat mummification link  
• ArchaeologyMag summary — Egyptian domestication origin 

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