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Farmers shin cats about 1,000 years ago in Spain , mayhap for the medieval cat - pelt industry or a " sorcerous " pagan rite , a new study finds .
Scientists line up evidence of the skinning at the archeological site of El Bordellet in eastern Spain , where medieval artifacts were discovered during highway construction in 2010 .
Here, the bones of one of the cats recovered in Spain, showing parts of skull and jaw still connected before analysis (B, C and D).
During more recent excavations , researchers found nine pits that likely sustain crops from medieval farm . A bit of these pits moderate bone from sheep , goats , cattle , pigs , dogs andhorses .
One Hell was far-famed because it contained an unusual amount of felid remains — about 900 domesticated cat bones . One such ivory was carbon copy date stamp to about A.D. 970 to 1025 . [ See Photos of the Remains of Ancient Egyptian Kittens ]
Skinned cats
Several clue chair the archaeologists to reason that the cats were probably skinned . The numeral , angle , loudness and location of the cutting marks and fracture image on the ivory were coherent with those ensure in prior experiments where investigator skinned a miscellany of animate being .
The state of the bones suggests that most of the feline were 9 to 20 month old when they died . The research worker said this age was potential the best for cat - fur usage , when the felid were relatively large but their fur was still free of equipment casualty , parasitesor disease .
Cat skinning has been seen widely at legion archaeological sites in northern Europe , peculiarly Britain and Ireland , the investigator say . " The skins were fundamentally used for have garment , mainly coats , " as well as collars and sleeve , say study lead author Lluís Lloveras , a zooarchaeologist at the University of Barcelona . " Some textual matter also make reference point to the heal qualities of big cat skin , but also to its potential harmfulness . "
Cat fur was often traded during the Middle Ages , according to archaeological find and medieval texts , Lloveras said . " The skins of the computed tomography and the cony have many similarities in term of lineament and tactual sensation , " Lloveras told Live Science .
Both domestic cats andwildcats were skinnedfor the fur diligence , although the note value of domestic - African tea fur " could be deserving 100 sentence less than that of the savage , " Lloveras said . " The pelt of domesticated cat was normally used by less - affluent people or social groups that had to demonstrate a certain nonindulgence , like nuns . "
A 2013 field of study in the journal Antiqvitas found grounds ofcat skin in the Muslim area of chivalric Iberia . This new subject field may be the first conclusive evidence of Caterpillar - fur usage in the medieval Christian part of Iberia , the European peninsula containing Spain and Portugal . " This proves that cat - pelt exploitation was common in both [ the ] Christian and [ the ] Islamic world , " Lloveras said .
Pagan cat rituals?
However , the researchers said there might be another explanation for this cat skinning : a magical pagan rite . Other creature remains uncover alongside thefeline bonesincluded a whole horse skull , a goat horn shard and a crybaby eggshell .
" All these particular animal stay on have been associated with ritual exercise in the Middle Ages as well as in later times , " Lloveras said . For instance , a 1999 studyin the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology found a partial cat skeleton buried with several hens underneath a rampart from the late-15th to early-16th 100 in England , perhaps as part of a commemorative rite during construction , he tell .
However , the researchers cautioned that the archaeological disc in this region does not make it clear whether these off-white were placed together coincidently or as part of a ritual . " We will hold off for newfangled future discoveries in the area , " Lloveras say .
The scientist detailed their findings online May 24 in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology .
Original clause onLive Science .
