1,200 years ago, a cat in Jerusalem left the oldest known evidence of 'making biscuits' on a clay jug
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Around 1,200 years ago, a cat "made biscuits," kneading on a drying clay jug in Jerusalem, leaving behind the oldest evidence of this feline behavior on record
A small cat "made biscuits" around 1,200 years ago in Jerusalem, leaving behind the oldest record of knead marks. (Image credit: Shimon Gibson/Mt Zion Expedition)
Archaeologists in Jerusalem have discovered a 1,200-year-old jug fragment with the imprint of a small cat "making biscuits," the oldest evidence of a kitty kneading on record. The team suspects the cat left its paw print when a potter left the freshly made jug to dry in the sun before firing it in a kiln. The jug's surface would have still been moist and malleable for a time, in perfect condition to immortalize a feline passerby.
"We think the cat was kneading rather than just resting on the jug because its claws were extended and left deep marks in the clay surface," Shimon Gibson, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte who co-directed the Mount Zion excavation that revealed the finding, told Live Science in an email.
Gretchen Cotter, the laboratory director, noticed the markings on the pottery fragment during post-excavation work. The shape of the small imprint, which includes a part of the cat's front leg, suggests that the feline had laid on the edge of the jug, perhaps to sunbathe. The paw print is 1.2 inches by 1.2 inches (3 by 3 centimeters) while the portion of the arm is 0.8 inches by 0.4 inches (2 by 1 cm
"We can only imagine that it was purring as it soaked up the Jerusalem sun," the archaeologists said in a statement Gibson emailed to Live Science. Cats knead for various reasons. As kittens they rhythmically tread their paws on the mother's body to stimulate the flow of milk. Adults cats also knead, particularly when they're with someone who makes them feel safe, as they likely associate this behavior with the comfort they felt as nursing kittens. It's also thought that kneading may help cats leave their scent.
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/1-200-years-ago-a-cat-in-jerusalem-left-the-oldest-known-evidence-of-making-biscuits-on-a-clay-jug
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