This Ancient Paw Print on a Pottery Fragment in Jerusalem Is the Oldest Known Evidence of a Cat Kneading

The deep penetrations suggest that the feline was pressing its claws into the clay, a behavior sometimes known as “making biscuits”

Sonja Anderson
Daily Correspondent
November 1, 2024



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.



drawing
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.

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-paw-print-on-a-pottery-fragment-in-jerusalem-is-the-oldest-known-evidence-of-a-cat-kneading-180985360/