Journal of Archaeological Science 35 (2008) 26722673

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Journal of Archaeological Science

journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas

Review

Early cat taming in Egypt: a correction

Veerle Linseele a, Wim Van Neer b, *, Stan Hendrickx c
a
Center for Archaeological Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
b
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Laboratory of Animal Biodiversity and Systematics, Ch. Deberiotstraat 32, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium
c
Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, Elfde Liniestraat 25, B-3500 Hasselt, Belgium

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A cat skeleton from a Predynastic burial in Egypt that was previously labelled as Felis silvestris is re-
Received 7 April 2008 identied as Felis chaus. This means that the previous claim needs to be withdrawn that the specimen
Accepted 21 April 2008 represents early evidence for taming of Felis silvestris that ultimately led to domestication. However, the
statement that the small felid has been held in captivity for several weeks, based on the presence of
healed fractures, is still valid.
Keywords: 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Predynastic
Egypt
Hierakonpolis
Archaeozoology
Taming
Felis chaus
Felis silvestris

During the 2008 excavation season at Hierakonpolis1 work held in captivity. Further, it was hypothesized that the felid must
continued at the Predynastic and Early Dynastic elite cemetery at have been kept in connement for at least 46 weeks which is the
Locality HK6 where numerous burials of domestic and wild time needed for fractures to heal. These observations were believed
mammals have been found (Van Neer et al., 2004). The cemetery is to represent evidence for an early attempt of cat taming almost two
unique in the archaeological record of the Predynastic period for millennia earlier than the Middle Kingdom period when the cat
the number and variety of animal taxa present in graves both in was considered to have reached its status of domestic animal in
conjunction with human burials and without human occupant. In Egypt (Malek, 1993). Because of the healed fractures it was also
one of these graves, named Tomb 12 and provisionally dated by hypothesized that the Hierakonpolis material provided better evi-
associated pottery to Naqada IC-IIA (around 3700 B.C.) (Adams, dence for taming than the 7500 B.C. cat burial from Shillour-
2000), the remains were found of 7 anubis baboons, a hippopota- okambos, Cyprus, where a burial of a cat was found close to that of
mus calf of only a few days old, and a subadult, small, felid. This a human (Vigne et al., 2004).
small felid showed healed fractures on a humerus and a femur. On The small felid from Tomb 12 in HK6 was re-examined in March
the basis of the measurements of the postcranial elements of this 2008 by the second author to compare it with newly excavated felid
young individual it was concluded that the animal was too large for
sand cat (Felis margarita) and too small for swamp cat (Felis chaus). Table 1
Its measurements corresponded best with those of the numerous Measurements taken on the upper jaw of the cat from Tomb 12 in the elite cemetery
modern wild cat (Felis silvestris) skeletons that were investigated HK6 at Hierakonpolis
and with those of Egyptian archaeological specimens attributed to HK6 F. silvestris libyca F. chaus nilotica
the same species (Linseele et al., 2007). It was argued that the limb alv. L. I1-M1 46.7
bones broke during the capture of the animal or, later, while it was alv. L. C-M1 37.3 26.3 (26.131.7) (n 12) 39.6 (34.941.9) (n 14)
alv. L. P2-M1 27.1
GL P4 15.8 10.9 (9.911.9) (n 9) 14.9 (13.516.5) (n 18)
GB P4 7.0
GL alveole C 8.2
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 32 2 627 44 38; fax: 32 2 627 41 13.
GB alveole C 6.2
E-mail addresses: veerle.linseele@arts.kuleuven.bes (V. Linseele), wim.vanneer@
natuurwetenschappen.be (W. Van Neer). In two instances comparison is possible with published metrical data on modern
1
Excavations at HK6 were undertaken under the direction of Dr Renee Friedman Felis silvestris and Felis chaus: indicated are the mean, minimum and maximum
with the nancial support of Tom and Linda Heagy and the friends of Nekhen. values and the number of individuals (from Osborn and Helmy, 1980, p. 437).

0305-4403/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.04.009
 V. Linseele et al. / Journal of Archaeological Science 35 (2008) 26722673
remains. At this occasion, it appeared that among the skull frag-
ments mentioned in Linseele et al. (2007), also a right premaxilla
and maxilla were present. Although the teeth from this upper jaw
are no longer in place, several alveolar measurements could be
taken (Table 1). Comparison of these data with the skull mea-
surements given for modern Egyptian specimens of F. silvestris and
F. chaus (Osborn and Helmy, 1980, p. 437) show that the felid from
Hierakonpolis should be re-identied as F. chaus. The modern
postcranial material of F. silvestris that was used for the initial
identication all came from European specimens with the excep-
tion of two animals from both Kenya and Congo and may not have
been ideal reference material. In contrast to skulls, postcranial
skeletal material is relatively rare in musea. For the same reason
only 3 postcranial skeletons of F. chaus could be included in the
initial study. Possibly, a larger sample of F. chaus skeletons, and the
inclusion of Egyptian F. silvestris skeletons, would have shown
a larger degree of overlap between male F. silvestris and female F.
chaus. The fact that the HK6 specimen is from a subadult with not
all its epiphyses fused also partly explains the previous mis-
identication.
The re-identication of the Hierakonpolis specimen as F. chaus
obviously means that the previous claim needs to be withdrawn
that it would represent early evidence for taming of F. silvestris that
ultimately led to domestication. The small felid from Tomb 12 at
HK6 presents palaeopathological evidence that a F. chaus had been
held in captivity for several weeks and the same is true for the 7
baboons found in the same grave: healed fractures occur occa-
sionally on the limb bones and in one instance on the mandible, but
are very common in the feet and hand bones. At least 4 out of the 7
2673
baboons had suffered from a fractured hind foot and at least 5 out of
7 had a fractured forefoot (Van Neer et al., 2004). Similar evidence
is lacking for the other wild mammals (aurochs, hartebeest, wild
donkey, young hippo and elephant) found at the cemetery, but it is
possible that they were also maintained in captivity for some time
at the site. This connement along with their eventual sacrice may
be viewed as a manifestation of power and a control over nature. In
the case of the aurochs and the wild donkey, the domestic form was
already available in the Predynastic, including at Hierakonpolis, but
apparently there was still the desire to exert control over the wild
populations. F. chaus was never domesticated, but the experience
gained from keeping this species may have contributed to the later
taming and domestication of F. silvestris.
References
Adams, B., 2000. Excavations in the Locality 6 Cemetery at Hierakonpolis 1979
1985. In: BAR International Series, vol. 903 Oxford.
Linseele, V., Van Neer, W., Hendrickx, S., 2007. Evidence for early cat taming in
Egypt. Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (12), 20812090.
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Osborn, D.J., Helmy, I., 1980. The contemporary land mammals of Egypt (including
Sinai). Fieldiana, Zoology, New Series 5.
Van Neer, W., Linseele, V., Friedman, R., 2004. Animal burials and food offerings at
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