Over a thousand years ago, a cat stumbled upon a fresh piece of pottery in Jerusalem and pressed its paws into the still-malleable clay. Recent analysis of the jug fragment has led archaeologists to declare this 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”.
The cat paw pottery 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.
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 told Live Science.
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. The researchers think the jug was made during this time, perhaps around the ninth century C.E.
“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.
“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….
