把喵星人当萌宠这事 中国人在5千年前就做了

 　　China had its OWN breed of domesticated¹ cat 5,500 years ago!

　　5500年前，中国就有自己的家养喵星人品种了！

　　There are thought to be 500 million domestic cats worldwide, all descended² from a form of wildcat native to north Africa and the eastern Mediterranean³.

　　据称全球共有5亿种家猫，都是源自北非和地中海东部地区的一种野猫的后裔。

　　But this wasn't always the case.

　　但事情并不是一直都是这样的。

　　把喵星人当萌宠这事 中国人在5千年前就做了

　　Researchers studying the bones of the earliest domesticated cats in China have discovered the first felines⁴ to live with humans 5,000 years ago were instead relatives of the Asian leopard⁵ cat.

　　中国研究最古老家养猫骨骼的研究人员发现：第一种同人类生活在5000年前的猫科动物，竟是亚洲豹猫的近缘！

　　This study suggests 'taming' of cats took place at least twice in different parts of the world –and with two different species of cat.

　　这项研究指出“驯养”猫至少两次出现在世界上不同地区——而且出现的是两种不同种类的猫。

　　The cat bones used in the study were unearthed⁶ in archaeological excavations⁸ in 2001 from the site of ancient agricultural settlements in Shaanxi province in northern China.

　　研究中猫的骨骼是2001年在中国北部陕西省古农业文明定居的遗址中出土的。

　　They were dated to 3,000 to 3,500 years BC.

　　这些骨骼可以追溯到公元前3000年到3500年前。

　　To determine which species they originated from, and whether they belonged to the same group of felines that were tamed in the West, scientists undertook what's known as geometric morphometric analysis.

　　为了确定这些骨骼是源自哪种猫科，这些骨骼是否同属于西方驯化的猫科品种，科学家们采用了名为几何形态学分析的研究方法。

　　The scientists analysed the mandibles of five cats from Shaanxi and Henan dating from 3,500 to 2,900 BC.

　　科学家们分析了山西和河南省五种猫骨的上颌骨，这五种猫骨都可以追溯到公元前3500年到2900年前。

　　All of the bones in the excavation⁷ belonged to the leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis, an animal of similar size to a domestic cat but with longer legs and a smaller head, and which still lives in the wild across much of Asia.

　　挖掘出的所有的猫骨都属于豹猫（leopard cat, 又称Prionailurus bengalensis），这是一种同家猫有着相似的大小但腿略长且头略小，而且现仍生活在亚洲大部分地区的野外。

　　This wildcat, which is a distant relation of the western wildcat, is well-known for its propensity⁹ to frequent areas with a strong human presence.

　　这种野猫是西方野猫的“远亲”，因其经常出现在人气很强的地区而为人所熟知。

　　The researchers showed that cats and humans began to live alongside one another as agriculture developed, presumably because both found a benefit in the cats' rodent-catching abilities.

　　研究人员发现随着农业的发展，猫和人类就开始一起生活了。原因可能是两者都发现了自己在猫“抓老鼠能力”中的好处。

1 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 felines   

n.猫科动物( feline的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Any of several felines, such as the cheetah or the snow leopard. 这片地区是濒临灭绝的雪豹的栖息地。 来自互联网
• Search in the basket of life, you will find it, answered Felines. 它在生命的篮子里＂巴思特女神回答道。 来自互联网

5 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

6 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

7 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

8 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

9 propensity   

n.倾向；习性

参考例句：

• He has a propensity for drinking too much alcohol.他有酗酒的倾向。
• She hasn't reckoned on his propensity for violence.她不曾料到他有暴力倾向。