Posted on Sep 27, 2016
Early Cats Traveled with Vikings and Farmers
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Archaeological evidence suggests that cats and humans started to interact around the dawn of agriculture. In 2004, researchers reported in the journal Science that they'd discovered a human and a cat buried together on the island of Cyprus. The burial dated back 9,500 years. Prior to that discovery, researchers had thought that cats had been domesticated in Egypt about 4,000 years ago — though the discovery of two cats and four kittens in an animal burial ground in the Upper Egypt city of Hierakonpolis in 2014 suggests the existence of some sort of cat husbandry in Egypt 2,000 years before that.
Early Cats Traveled with Vikings and Farmers
Posted from livescience.com
Cats
World History
Ancient History
Science
Animals
Posted 8 y ago
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The cat in the picture looks distressed SPC Britanny *Winnie* Balthaser :-)
I expect some cats voluntarily participated in oceanic voyages of the Norsemen including Vikings especially when they saw rats. However I expect most were brought along unwillingly on those voyages.
In Egypt, Bastet was originally a lioness warrior goddess of the sun throughout most of ancient Egyptian history, but later she was changed into the cat goddess which is familiar today.
Here are six other cat-stories from ancient times from http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/6-cat-gods-goddesses-worshiped-ancient-cultures
1. Freyja’s cat-driven chariot. The Norse goddess Freyja, deity of love, fertility, war, wealth, divination, and magic, rode in a chariot pulled by two giant gray cats given to her by the god Thor. Farmers left offerings for the cats in order to ensure a good harvest.
2. A shape-shifting Peruvian god. Ai-Apaec, a god of the pre-Inca civilization known as the Mochica, was often depicted as an old man with a wrinkled face, long fangs and cat-like whiskers. He was said to have evolved from an ancient cat god and to be able to assume the form of a tomcat.
3. A guardian of Chinese families. A cat god called Li Shou appears in the Chinese Book of Rites. He was worshipped by farmers because he protected the crops from being eaten by rats and mice.
4. A Polish protector. In ancient Poland, Ovinnik, who appeared in the form of a black cat, was worshipped by many farming families because he watched over domestic animals and chased away evil-natured ghosts and mischievous fairies. (Like most creatures of Slavonic mythology, they were great until you didn’t appreciate them or give them what they needed — then they did things like make mischief that could have tragic results.)
5. A shape-shifting Greek goddess. Greek mythology tells of how the goddess Hecate assumed the form of a cat in order to escape the monster Typhon. Afterwards, she extended special treatment to all cats.
6. A Celtic goddess’ aides. Ceridwen, the Welsh goddess of wisdom and mother of the famous bard Taliesin, was attended by white cats who carried out her orders on Earth.
I expect some cats voluntarily participated in oceanic voyages of the Norsemen including Vikings especially when they saw rats. However I expect most were brought along unwillingly on those voyages.
In Egypt, Bastet was originally a lioness warrior goddess of the sun throughout most of ancient Egyptian history, but later she was changed into the cat goddess which is familiar today.
Here are six other cat-stories from ancient times from http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/6-cat-gods-goddesses-worshiped-ancient-cultures
1. Freyja’s cat-driven chariot. The Norse goddess Freyja, deity of love, fertility, war, wealth, divination, and magic, rode in a chariot pulled by two giant gray cats given to her by the god Thor. Farmers left offerings for the cats in order to ensure a good harvest.
2. A shape-shifting Peruvian god. Ai-Apaec, a god of the pre-Inca civilization known as the Mochica, was often depicted as an old man with a wrinkled face, long fangs and cat-like whiskers. He was said to have evolved from an ancient cat god and to be able to assume the form of a tomcat.
3. A guardian of Chinese families. A cat god called Li Shou appears in the Chinese Book of Rites. He was worshipped by farmers because he protected the crops from being eaten by rats and mice.
4. A Polish protector. In ancient Poland, Ovinnik, who appeared in the form of a black cat, was worshipped by many farming families because he watched over domestic animals and chased away evil-natured ghosts and mischievous fairies. (Like most creatures of Slavonic mythology, they were great until you didn’t appreciate them or give them what they needed — then they did things like make mischief that could have tragic results.)
5. A shape-shifting Greek goddess. Greek mythology tells of how the goddess Hecate assumed the form of a cat in order to escape the monster Typhon. Afterwards, she extended special treatment to all cats.
6. A Celtic goddess’ aides. Ceridwen, the Welsh goddess of wisdom and mother of the famous bard Taliesin, was attended by white cats who carried out her orders on Earth.
6 Cat Gods and Goddesses Worshiped by Ancient Cultures | Catster
Author Terry Pratchett once said, "In ancient times, cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." When you hear this phrase, do you automatically think of ancient Egypt? Probably. Do you think of any other cultures? Probably not. But don’t worry, I’ve been guilty of this misconception, too: For many years, I believed …
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The Vikings had to have something to kill the rats that were on board ship, and farmers let them take care of the rats that congregated in their barns. A win-win situation for all.
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Almost got to Cyprus back in 95........Still need to try and go there. I'm more of a dog person, but definitely an interesting archaeological discovery. Helps us know how long certain animals have been domesticated, and in which areas it may have started.
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