Longtime companionsSCIENTISTS MAY have been surprised to discover what they think is the earliest evidence of the human-feline bond, but no cat lover was. The unearthing of bones from a grave in southern Cyprus has revealed that around 9,500 years ago the body of an eight-month-old cat had been carefully buried within inches of the remains of a 30-year-old human. That placement -- discovered in 2001 -- indicates that they were buried together and shows "a strong association between the two individuals," researchers wrote in the journal Science this month.
The scientists, headed by Jean-Denis Vigne of the Natural History Museum in Paris, noted that their find is evidence that "a close relation had developed" between man and cat 5,000 years before the Egyptians made the animal a sacred pet -- previously believed to be the beginning of the companionship that has inspired poetry, literature, art, music, and the successful marketing of all things feline. "In lieu of finding a bell around its neck, this is about as solid evidence as one can have that cats held a special place in the lives and afterlives of residents on this site," said Smithsonian Zoo archeologist Melinda Zeder in an interview accompanying the article in Science. As is often true with provocative archeological finds, one longs for specifics, which are impossible to glean from bones. Was the human a man or a woman -- scientists could not determine gender -- and how did he or she die? Was the cat then killed so the two would be eternally together? Researchers surmise this may have been the case. But could a reverse scenario have taken place in which a person, heartbroken over the death of a cat, became distracted and accidentally took a fatal fall, or just refused to eat? Was this person a chief or priestess who walked through the village with the cat on a shoulder? Was this perhaps the first "horse whisperer" or an ancient Dr. Doolittle? Archeologists have found the remains of dogs, cattle, goats, sheep, foxes, pigs, and deer on the island, brought there by the area's first farmers, so there would have been ample opportunity to communicate. The animals were introduced to feed man and aid him in his labors -- as was the cat, which ate the mice invading the grain. But many a farm animal has become a pet, and the barn cat often works its way to a soft living room seat near the fire.
The larger question is: Who trains whom? Scientists may yet tell us. For now it's good to experience what has delighted humans for 9,500 years: When the cat purrs, both man and beast are content. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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