Tag Archives: Archaeology

In an article for Scientific American, Carlos A. Driscoll discusses genetic and archaeological findings that give us hints about the domestication of cats from wild creatures into house pets. A line that caught my eye:

Cats contribute virtually nothing in the way of sustenance or work to human endeavor.

I disagree.

Cats kill vermin, mice, rats, snakes, etc., which harm humans. Doing this they also help to prevent food loss and disease amongst humans. They help prevent nasty things like the Plague. The ancients knew this and cats were invaluable to urban human development. In the recent gold mining settlements cats were imported, and a ‘good mouser’ was worth the weekly wage of a man!

Oh, and they’re cute.

They contribute to cuteness.

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