Who would have thought that the tough Vikings were travelling with cats across Europe? Researchers discovered an ancient cat DNA that proves that before becoming one of the most common pets in the United States, cats had the journey of their lives with the Vikings. There were always people who wondered how cats spread in so many countries and when they became so common in our houses.
Researchers from the Institut Jacques Monod, in Paris, used data from 290 cats which were found from more than 30 archeological excavations in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. They were also able to find some cat remains in a Viking grave.
According to the researchers, ancient felines most likely spread in two waves. The first one happened due to earliest farmers in Europe. The second one was when cats went from Egypt to Asia and Africa. In this second wave, Vikings were also travelling with cats during their journeys. Researchers have also the evidence for this. They found out that the cat remains from the Viking grave were similar to those from the Egyptian cat mummies.
It was easy for the Vikings to travel with cats on ships because they are small animals. Moreover, there were a lot of mice on those ships, so cats were helping the Vikings against them. The furry creatures managed to go to places such as Greenland and now they are one of the most popular in the world. According to the American Pet Products Association, almost 96 million cats are only in the United States. There are 37 percent of American houses who own a cat and more who wish to have one. This thing happens also in Europe, where dogs and cats are the most common animals people keep in their houses.
Even though now cats are common, during the Viking age, they were rare and also expensive. This could be unusual for us, but in the ancient times, these felines were connected to gods. Things changed and now we can find them on the streets, in shops so we do not pay so much attention to them. It is interesting to find out that the tough Vikings, who scared so many people, were having cats with them during their journeys. Cats were having a close relationship with humans from the ancient times.
Image source: Pixabay
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