From Shipwrecked Cats to Canine Clues: USU Alum Digs Into the Past

When archaeologists excavated the remains of a 16th-century Spanish shipwreck off the coast of Florida, they didn’t just find artifacts from the age of exploration; they found cats.

Recovered during the excavation of the Emanuel Point shipwreck, two sets of feline bones — one adult, one juvenile — are among the earliest known domesticated cats in what is now the United States. The discovery, highlighted in the quarterly journal American Antiquity in April, has generated buzz not just for its historical significance but for what it reveals about the lives of sailors and their four-legged companions.

Among the scholars contributing to the study was Martin Welker, a Utah State University anthropology alumnus and now an associate professor at the University of Arizona and the Arizona State Museum’s associate curator of zooarchaeology. Welker is quick to point out that he came onto the project late, after the excavation and analysis were complete, but his expertise in tracking the spread of domesticated species across the Americas helped put the findings into context.

“Cats are really not common in archaeological assemblages,” Welker said. “Even when people had them in the past, they were usually running around doing their own thing. You might get a bone or two, but you tend not to get large numbers of them.”

This study brought together those scattered finds to start building a bigger picture of when and where cats arrived in the Americas.

The Emanuel Point shipwreck cats tell a story blending necessity with companionship. Historical records show these animals were frequently brought aboard ships to control rodents and even considered good luck, but the study’s isotopic analysis revealed that in addition to rats, these cats enjoyed table scraps, suggesting they were more than just pest control.

“The composition of the bones themselves is a direct link to what it was eating, and in this case, it doesn't look like it was just eating rats and mice,” Welker said. “It’s easy to envision the sailors slipping food to the cat under the table.”

While this project focused on feline friends, most of Welker’s career has centered on dogs — specifically, how changes in their size, shape and roles reflect shifts in human culture.

“Dogs provide a really interesting way of looking at the human past,” he said. “Dogs are used in transport … in herding, in guarding … in hunting,” and their morphology often connects directly to those roles, Welker said.

That fascination began unexpectedly. Welker grew up with cats, not dogs, and started his academic path in engineering. An elective course in archaeology changed everything.

“I had always been interested in history and biology and being outside,” he said, before someone suggested he take the world archaeology course to satisfy a general requirement. “Within two weeks, I changed my major.”

At USU, Welker’s education extended far beyond the classroom. He earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 2013 along with a museum studies certificate. He credits his professors with giving him undergraduate access to fieldwork, lab research and mentoring.

“The faculty were willing to give me opportunities to get hands-on experience,” he said. “I worked in the lab. I worked in the museum. I did some stuff with Molly Cannon up in the geospatial lab. I worked with a bunch of the grad students. I went into the field with people,” Welker said. “I really enjoyed [the ability] to directly apply what I was learning, to be involved in research. That was formative to my trajectory, and it’s something I try to provide to my own students.”

That tradition of mentorship continues through Welker’s ongoing collaborations with USU anthropology professor David Byers. For more than six years, the two have worked to refine methods for distinguishing dogs from wolves and coyotes in archaeological records — a task complicated by North America’s unique mix of canid species.

According to Welker, many existing methods were developed in Europe, where archaeologists did not have to contend with coyotes. The current project that Byers and Welker are collaborating on has led to “really meaningful discussion about what methods should and should not be used to identify dogs,” Welker said. He thinks this could open the door to answering bigger questions about human migration, transport technology and cultural adaptation.

“Working with former students, who often return with novel ideas and methods, can be a great experience,” Byers said. “Collaborating with Martin has provided academic challenges and opportunities that have been super fun to address. At the same time, it’s great seeing a former student enjoy his level of success.”

For students considering a similar path, Welker’s advice is likewise clear: try everything.

“[Get] your hands dirty. [Work] on something in the lab, that’s really the best way to experience things.” And, Welker advises, don’t fixate too early. “It's important to allow yourself to experience all of the things you can but also be flexible enough to take opportunities as they come along.”

Looking back, Welker sees his time at USU as foundational. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance I had from all the mentors, and the impact those experiences had can’t be overstated. It was just an incredible experience.”

From shipwrecked cats to sled dogs, Welker’s career shows how studying animals can open a window into human history and how the journey to a fulfilling career often begins with one unexpected class.

For more information about anthropology programs at USU, please visit: https://artsci.usu.edu/explore-degrees?program=Anthropology%20Program