Premium
The mummified cats of ancient Egypt.
Author(s) -
MORRISONSCOTT T. C. S.
Publication year - 1952
Publication title -
proceedings of the zoological society of london
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0370-2774
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1952.tb00788.x
Subject(s) - domestication , felis , ancient egypt , archaeology , biology , zoology , geography , cats , ancient history , history , ecology , computer science , embedded system
SUMMARY. A series of one hundred and ninety skulls of mummified cats, excavated at Gizeh, and dating from approximately 600‐200 B. C., has formed the basis of an enquiry into the identity of the cats of ancient Egypt. Statistical analysis of the measurements of these skulls, and a critical examination of the available evidence, lead to the view that two forms of cat were mummified. The larger form, which is not so common as a mummy, and which may or may not have been domesticated, represents Felis chaus . The smaller, and by far the commoner, mummies were thought by Ehrenberg (1833) to represent two forms, one larger than the other, and Ehrenberg's view has been adopted by many subsequent authors. But the evidence does not support this view and, apart from the large chaus , the cats mummified by ancient Egyptians appear to represent one form only, the skulls of which agree closely with those of the wild Felis libyca Forster, from which it was probably derived. If this view is correct this form should be known as Felis libyca bubastis Ehrenberg, 1833. From paintings and figures it seems that bubastis , which was certainly domesticated, was a ginger‐coloured cat, with rather long ears and legs, and with a long, ringed tail.