pet

The remains of the cat fund in Kazakhstan. Source: Ashleigh Haruda / MLU

10 July, 2020 - 22:45 ashley cowie

Silk Road Cat Pushes Back Central Asia Domestication to 8th-century AD

Archaeologists have found the well-preserved remains of a Silk Road cat buried in Kazakhstan that likely dates from the 8th century AD, and the evidence suggests this was a “well-loved pet cat.” In a...

Remains of the Roman toy dog reveal its tiny stature and a healthy diet similar to its owners. Source: Martínez Sánchez / University of Granada

26 March, 2020 - 22:01 Ed Whelan

Ancient Remains Reveal the Romans Had ‘Toy Dogs’ Too

Research in Spain reveals that the Romans loved miniature or toy dogs. In antiquity, many members of the elite had pampered pets. Just as today, many celebrities have ‘toy dogs’ such as chihuahuas...

Foxes and dogs were domesticated in antiquity.

22 February, 2019 - 18:24 ancient-origins

Dogs and Foxes Were Domesticated By Bronze Age Humans

Science Daily In the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, between the third and second millennium BC, a widespread funeral practice consisted in burying humans with animals. Scientists have discovered...

Representational image of a war elephant. The recently-discovered fortress at Berenike guarded a port that supplied war elephants

6 January, 2019 - 18:51 ashley cowie

2300-Year-Old Fortress Which Guarded Port That Supplied War Elephants Found in Egypt in Major Discovery

A Polish-American archaeological team have discovered the ruins of a 2,300-year-old fortress that once protected the Ancient Egyptian port of “Berenike”, situated strategically on the coast of the...

The Carniolan honey bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of Western honey bee.

29 June, 2018 - 10:26 Kerry Sullivan

After 2000 Years of Harmony, the Maya May Soon Lose their Stingless Bee Pets

For several years now, reports have circulated about the worrisome decline of the population of bees. Periodically, newspaper headlines lament the bees’ disappearance as an irreversible tipping point...

11 October, 2017 - 01:56 ancient-origins

Viking Dogs Followed Their Masters to Valhalla

By THORNEWS Large amounts of animal bones have been found in Viking Age ship graves. For example, there were eight large sighthounds (Old Norse: mjór) buried on both sides outside the ship In the...

Some of the remains of ancient Egyptian pets unearthed in Berenike.

8 October, 2017 - 22:45 Theodoros Karasavvas

2,000-Year-Old Ancient Egyptian Cemetery Containing Dozens of Pets Unearthed in Berenike

A team of archaeologists have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old pet cemetery holding the remains of dogs, monkeys and scores of cats at the site of Berenike, an Egyptian town on the Red Sea that...

22 June, 2017 - 02:00 Theodoros Karasavvas

DNA Analysis Suggests Cats Chose to Be Domesticated

According to an extensive DNA analysis of cat genes the domestic cat is descended from wild cats that were tamed twice; once in the Near East and then in Egypt. The study suggests that cats lived for...

20 April, 2017 - 18:41 ashley cowie

From Mighty Bear Dogs to Breathless Bulldogs: How Human Manipulation Has Changed the Shape of Canines Forever

Dogs in Prehistory The early ancestors of Gray Wolves were a group of carnivores named the creodonts that roamed the northern hemisphere between 100 and 120 million years ago. About 55 million years...

Did You Known That Baboons Were Trained in Ancient Egypt to Catch Criminals?

19 February, 2017 - 14:28 dhwty

Did You Know That Baboons Were Trained in Ancient Egypt to Catch Criminals?

The ancient Egyptians were renowned for their worship of animals, and one of these was the baboon. In ancient Egyptian mythology, baboons are best known for their association with Thoth, the god of...

Ancient Egyptian relief carving of a dog.

7 September, 2015 - 14:49 lizleafloor

Ritual and Burial: The Strange and Elaborate Ways Humans Prepared Animals for the Afterlife

The practice of animal burial is one that dates back to prehistoric epochs. Many cultures around the globe have buried animals for various reasons: sentimentality, religious rituals, superstition,...