I don't know if this topic has been beat into the ground, as I haven't read
the FML in a couple of months, but I thought I'd add my $0.02.  When I was
in Greece this summer, I went to the Heraklion Museum, in Heraklion, on the
island of Crete.  The earliest Cretian artifacts are dated to approx.
5000B.C.  Anyhow, in one of the cases that held votive offerings to the
Snake Goddess, was a couple of stone ferrets.  I even asked my professor,
who is considered an expert (on Crete, not ferrets) and she said that
ferrets were a common pet during the Minoan time period.  I don't know if
this is earlier that when ferrets were in Egypt, but it might be.
 
Lisa
[Posted in FML issue 1452]