Journal article
Exploring the Arrival of Domestic Cats in the Americas
American antiquity, Vol.online ahead of print
04/14/2025
Web of Science ID: WOS:001466207400001
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Abstract
Domestic cats have lived alongside human communities for thousands of years, hunting rats, mice, and other pests and serving as pets and a source of pelts and meat. Cats have received limited archaeological attention because their independence limits direct insight into human societies. An adult and juvenile cat recovered from the Emanuel Point wreck 2 (EP2) reflect what are, most likely, the earliest cats in what is now the United States. Zooarchaeological analyses of these and other archaeological cats in the Americas demonstrate that cats ranged substantially in size: some were comparable to modern house cats, and others were much smaller. Isotopic analyses of the adult cat from EP2 provides insight into early shipboard cat behavior and their diet, which appears to have focused on consumption of fish and possibly domestic meat. Cats accompanied sailors on ships where they were relied on to hunt rats and mice that were infesting ships’ holds. Interestingly, based on these isotopic results, the adult cat from EP2 does not seem to have relied heavily on rats as a source of food. These pests were unintentionally introduced to the New World, and cats would have followed, hunting both native and invasive pests.
Los gatos domésticos han convivido junto a comunidades humanas durante miles de años, cazando ratas, ratones y otras plagas y sirviendo como mascotas y fuente de pieles y carne. Los gatos han recibido una atención arqueológica limitada porque su independencia limita el conocimiento directo de las sociedades humanas. Un gato adulto y un gato juvenil recuperados del naufragio 2 de Emanuel Point (EP2) reflejan lo que son, muy probablemente, los primeros gatos en lo que hoy es los Estados Unidos. Los análisis zooarqueológicos de estos y otros gatos arqueológicos en las Américas demuestran que los gatos variaban sustancialmente en tamaño, incluidos algunos comparables a los gatos domésticos modernos y otros que eran mucho más pequeños. Los análisis isotópicos del gato adulto de EP2 proporcionan información sobre el comportamiento y la dieta de los primeros gatos a bordo de barcos, que parecen haberse centrado en el consumo de pescado y posiblemente de carne doméstica. Los gatos acompañaban a los marineros en los barcos, donde se dependía de ellos para cazar ratas y ratones que infestaban las bodegas de los barcos, pero, curiosamente, según estos resultados isotópicos, el gato adulto de EP2 no parece haber dependido en gran medida de las ratas como fuente de alimento. Estas plagas se introdujeron involuntariamente en el Nuevo Mundo, y los gatos las habrían seguido donde cazaban plagas tanto nativas como invasoras.
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UWF faculty member receives national attention for insights on the earliest US domestic cats
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- Title
- Exploring the Arrival of Domestic Cats in the Americas
- Publication Details
- American antiquity, Vol.online ahead of print
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology
- Number of pages
- 19
- Grant note
- University of West Florida archaeology programFlorida Division of Historical Resources Special Category Grants: SC503, 23.h.sc.300.139
The archaeological fieldwork was conducted under 1A-32 permit 1314.057 from Florida's Bureau of Archaeological Research and funded by the University of West Florida archaeology program and Florida Division of Historical Resources Special Category Grants SC503 and 23.h.sc.300.139.
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2025.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001466207400001; 99381333092806600
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology; College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities; Archaeology Institute
- Language
- English; Spanish