The Near Eastern origin of cat domestication

This landmark study sampled wildcats across Europe, Africa, and Asia and used mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites to define the structure of the Felis silvestris complex and pinpoint the ancestry of domestic cats. The authors identified five wildcat lineages corresponding to the European, Near Eastern, Southern African, Central Asian, and Chinese mountain forms, and showed that all domestic cats descend from the Near Eastern wildcat, Felis silvestris lybica. The work placed domestication in the Fertile Crescent, consistent with archaeological evidence, and clarified the taxonomy of the whole wildcat group. It became the reference framework for wildcat systematics and for understanding which lineage gave rise to the house cat, influencing both classification and the study of cat domestication history.