The cat’s ancient paw print measures 1.2 inches across.
Shimon Gibson / Mount Zion Expedition
More than a millennia ago, a cat came upon a fresh piece of pottery in Jerusalem. It placed its paws upon the clay—which was still somewhat pliable—and pressed into it.
Now, after carefully analyzing a piece of the jug, archaeologists say it’s the oldest known evidence of a cat “kneading,” a behavior sometimes referred to as “making biscuits.”
The fragment was unearthed at Mount Zion, a hill that lies just outside the Old City of Jerusalem, during an excavation directed by Shimon Gibson, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Rafael Lewis, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.
This illustration of the clay fragment shows paw, claw and arm imprints.
Shimon Gibson / Mount Zion Expedition
However, nobody noticed the paw print until later. After the dig, the newly discovered artifacts were stored in boxes. Laboratory director Gretchen Cotter was sorting through them when she noticed the pottery fragment’s peculiar markings: imprints of a foreleg and small paw pads, as well as deep, precise penetrations.
“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,” Gibson tells Live Science’s Margherita Bassi. The paw print measures 1.2 inches across.
The kneaded fragment was once part of a jug that probably carried water, wine or olive oil, Gibson adds. It was found among other pottery pieces dating to the Abbasid period, which began around 750 C.E. with the rise of the Abbasid caliphate in the Middle East. The researchers think the jug was made during this time, perhaps around the ninth century C.E.
Cats were often revered in ancient Islamic culture. The prophet Muhammad reportedly adored the animals, which were allowed into mosques. As Gibson tells Live Science, cats are “mentioned in early Islamic sources, including Hadith literature,” the written record of the sayings and practices attributed to the prophet.
Mount Zion, pictured here from the west, lies just outside Jerusalem’s Old City walls.
Hagai Agmon-Snir via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0
“Kneading” refers to cats’ tendency to push their paws into soft surfaces, extending their claws and massaging—almost like they’re mixing dough. Kittens perform the same motion on their mothers’ mammary glands, which helps to stimulate the production of milk. As adults, many cats continue this habit, kneading either their favorite people, animals or soft surfaces. Some experts think the behavior indicates that the cat feels happy and safe.
All those years ago in Jerusalem, someone may have set a freshly sculpted jar in the sunlight to dry, per Haaretz’s Ruth Schuster. Then, its texture and scent likely attracted a curious feline.
“The paw print indicates that the small cat was probably reclined on the curving edge of the jug, likely basking in the sun,” Gibson tells the publication. “We can only [imagine] that it was purring.”
