Cat bones are less common than the remains of other domesticated animals in most archaeological sites, so the new cache of bones is scientifically valuable, Van Neer says."I do not know of any other series of cat bones that cover such a long period, with so many individuals."
After carefully measuring the bones with an electronic caliper, Bitz-Thorsen and Gotfredsen compared them with those of modern Danish cats dating from 1870 to the present.The study only focused on Danish cats, so the findings may not be generalizable to other parts of the world. However, a 1987 study of a collection of cat bones from Germany bolsters the idea that domestic cats of the medieval age were smaller than modern-day pets.
One reason may be more access to food. During the medieval period, mounting waste from expanding towns attracted more pests and provided cats with better nourishment, boosting their numbers and potentially their size. Between the late Middle Ages and today, cats became treasured and well-fed, reducing the energy they expend on finding food, Bitz-Thorsen says.
But it's not clear whether cats got bigger simply because they were eating more or whether something changed in their genes to make them larger, says University of Oslo postdoc Claudio Ottoni, who studies cat domestication. To answer this question, scientists will need to analyze DNA in ancient cat bones, he says, and look for chemical signatures of a changing diet.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
Because they’re Vikings!
Cat enlargement is continuing in modern times according to my anecdotal evidence.