人类驯猫史：从古埃及开始3000年前开始传遍世界

　　They often have a funny way of showing their affection, but domestic cats may owe their love of curling up on human laps to the ancient Egyptians.

　　家猫通常会以一种有趣的方式来表达自己的爱意，一项研究表明家猫可能从古埃及时代起就已经是人类的宠物了。

　　A genetic study on feline remains dating back 9,000 years has revealed a lineage of cats from Egypt began spreading around the world around 3,000 years ago.

　　据一项针对9000年前猫科动物的遗传学研究显示，猫起源于埃及，并于3000年前开始向世界各地传播。

　　These creatures interbred with local animals and left distinct DNA that persist in our pets to this day.

　　这些生物与当地物种杂交诞下后代，在宠物体内留下不同的DNA直到今天。

　　The scientists behind the research believe the Egyptian cats were so successful because they had developed traits that made them better ’companions’ than other types of wildcat.

　　这项研究背后的科学家们认为，埃及猫之所以如此成功，是因为它们培育出了比其他野猫更好的“伙伴”特征。

　　They say ancient Egyptians and those trading with them may have transported these cats in ships to far off ports, allowing the animals to pass on genes that made their descendants friendlier to humans.

　　他们表示，古埃及人和那些同他们贸易的人可能把这些猫用船运到了遥远的港口，使得这些动物可以传递基因、诞下对人类更加友好的后代。

　　Dr Eva-Maria Geigl, a molecular anthropologist at the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris and research director at the French National Research Centre CNRS, said: ’The peculiar social and cultural context of the Egyptian society may have facilitated the evolution of a more ’friendly’ disposition of cats towards humans.

　　巴黎贾可莫诺研究所分子人类学家、法国国家研究中心CNRS研究主任伊娃-玛丽亚表示：“埃及社会特有的社会和文化语境可能促进了猫咪对人类更加‘友好’性格的演变。”

　　’Their popularity as a companion animal, together with its role as pest control agent on ships, might have determined the success of the Egyptian cat in spreading along trade routes.’

　　“它们是人类的好朋友、还能消灭船上的害虫，也许就是这些原因决定了埃及猫在商路上传播的成功。”

　　The research, which is published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, gives the first detailed look at the genetics underlying early cat domestication.

　　该项研究被刊载在《自然生态与进化》期刊上，首次详细地描述了早期猫咪被驯化的遗传学基础。

　　Unlike dogs, which were domesticated at least 14,600 years ago, cat were domesticated relatively late.

　　和早在1.46万年前就被驯服了的狗不同，猫咪驯化的历史比较晚。