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Posted on 05/09/2025 10:41:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
In a discovery that pushes back the timeline of domestic cats in North America, archaeologists have uncovered the earliest known feline remains in the modern-day United States.
The find comes from the Emanuel Point II shipwreck, one of the vessels in the doomed 1559 expedition led by Spanish conquistador Tristán de Luna y Arellano. Published in American Antiquity on April 14, the study sheds light not only on the fate of these cats but also on their role in early colonial ventures...
In September 1559, a powerful hurricane devastated the Spanish fleet anchored off the nascent settlement of Santa María de Ochuse.
Several of the eleven ships in the colonizing expedition were wrecked, including the vessel now known as Emanuel Point II, discovered by archaeologists in 2006. Among the many artifacts and remains, two skeletons -- one adult and one juvenile -- stood out.
Analysis confirmed these were Felis catus, or domestic cats. According to Martin Welker, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the study, the cats provide the first direct evidence of felines reaching the U.S. mainland via Spanish explorers...
By comparing the bones with those of modern domestic cats and studying their chemical and DNA signatures, the scientists determined that the four-legged passengers were of European ancestry...
"What was interesting, is that our cat was not eating the rats on board the ship but had a diet more in line with what we'd expect for the sailors."...
Previous traces of cats have been linked to the Taíno settlement of En Bas Saline in modern-day Haiti, where Christopher Columbus landed in 1492. Yet he never reached the North American mainland, making the Luna expedition's felines the pioneer cats of the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailygalaxy.com ...
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Subtitled: "They weren't just ship cats. New evidence suggests these felines played a surprising role in early American history."
Cats are associated with the rise of civilization throughout the world. It's all part of their plan for world domination. Y'know, after they have a nap in the sunlight coming through their favorite window.
My wife and I both had dogs and no cats for many decades. Our last old wienerdog died and we were heartbroken. A little more than a year later one of the stray cats that we put food out for decided to move in with us and take over the house.
He started out normal sized, but it turned out that he was actually still a kitten and he kept getting bigger and bigger. I thought that maybe we were feeding him too much. But the vet said that he was not fat; he is just a really big cat. He acts a lot like a dog and loves chasing down balls and especially playing “hockey” with milk jug and juice bottle caps.
I have always had allergy problems with cats and some dogs, but he does not bother me, other than he likes to cover my face when I am sleeping. When I wake up I often have fine cat fur stuck to my lips and in my nose. He is a super fluffy cat; a Siberian with three distinct layers of fur. He sheds so much that I purchased a Robo-vac for every level in our house. He likes to whack the robo-vacs and knock them off their base stations. Sometimes he “accidentally” pushes their go buttons and they vacuum the entire story.
Great story about the huge Siberian cat, fireman15!
But this unexpected feline presence in America as early as the 1500s changes EVERYTHING!
At one time we had 5 cats living at our home.
Ghost Cats?
The Cat that could drive - Maritime version.
Similarly, although a life long dog person, out of pity, I nevertheless took in a stray cat about a year ago. A male black and white short hair cat with classic tuxedo markings, he is badly spoiled, keeps me in sight as much as possible, and likes to watch TV. He communicates when he wants to be fed, to go outdoors, and even when he decides that it is time for me to go to bed.
What does it change at all?
Cats have been part of eur civ for a long time.
Why is it a big deal that there were ship’s cats 🐈?
It’s true. I remember reading that fauna of some Pacific islands were wiped out because sailors had cats with them, when traveling to the islands
love it...
Siberians are supposed to be hypoallergenic to most people. You were lucky to get one for free. They’re very expensive to buy. Beautiful cats, with personalities more like dogs, as you’ve found out.
It was thanks to AB! 😃😁
“”What was interesting, is that our cat was not eating the rats on board the ship but had a diet more in line with what we’d expect for the sailors.”...”
How do they know this? - Maybe the cats had already got the job done.....
Dogs were here first. They failed in getting rid of these foreign invaders.
If the bones were found in a shipwreck off shore then technically they didn’t make it to the mainland...
Well...if you don’t count bobcats, ocelots, cougars, jaguars ,jaguarundi, and lynx, and the extinct sabertooths and American lions.
A ceremonially buried bobcat kitten was found in an archaeological dig in Illinois.
An interesting dog is the Northwest’s Salish wooly dog, which were only owned by women weavers and were kept separate from other dogs on islands to prevent them from breeding with dogs that did not have the desirable genetics to grow wooly hair. When traders showed up to sell inexpensive bolts of cloth, it unfortunately spelled the demise of the breed, so it went extinct. They looked somewhat like a big Pomeranian but unlike normal dogs, the hair was uniquely suited for making cloth.
Lots more academic info on US cats and cats on general
Exploring the Arrival of Domestic Cats in the Americas
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/exploring-the-arrival-of-domestic-cats-in-the-americas/A3D8A7797C46D01175D545BBEFD76BFA
“How do they know this?”
By analyzing the teeth. They can determine what person/animal grew up eating.
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