House cats date back 9,500 years, excavation finds
It's true, I suppose- the more things change, the more they stay the same.
It appears that dogs have been chasing cats around the house for much longer than anyone thought.
A cat that may have been buried with its owner at least 9,500 years ago has been uncovered at an archeological site in Cyprus. If the animal was indeed a pet, the discovery, reported Friday in the journal Science, turns back the clock on the origin of the house cat by thousands of years.
Only dogs, domesticated 12,500 years ago, have a longer history as pets.
It had been thought that the ancient Egyptians were the first known cat owners. The Egyptians revered their felines and kept them as pets more than 4,000 years ago.
The new find adds to scientists' understanding of how early civilization grew. It indicates that grain farming, with its attendant mice, most likely brought the cat to the human hearth in prehistoric times.
Yes, even in prehistoric times cats ruled and dogs drooled....
