A Reappraisal of the Evidence for Pre- Columbian Introduction of Chickens to the Americas (original) (raw)
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The publications by Storey et al. (2007, 2008a, 2008b) describing the discovery and radiocarbon dating of pre-Columbian chicken remains from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1 in south central Chile reinvigorated longstanding debates about the presence of prehistoric domestic chickens in the Americas. Some have questioned the validity of the link between prehistoric Polynesian voyagers and the pre-Columbian chickens of El Arenal-1, requesting more details to verify the dates and the likely origin of the introduction. In this paper we provide an expanded account regarding the dating of the chicken remains from the site of El Arenal-1 in order to reaffirm their authenticity. Their prehistoric age established, we focus attention on a critical reanalysis of arguments surrounding the source of the first introductions of chickens to the Americas. These include historic accounts and hypotheses developed as a result of comparative morphology. Particular attention is focused on assessing the utility of evidence from the study of physical characteristics of both black-boned, black-meat chickens and the phenotypic traits of the Araucana (Gallus inauris) breed to support pre-Columbian introductions. As a result, we reinforce the previous hypothesis that a pre-Columbian introduction of chickens from Polynesia is the most parsimonious explanation for the available evidence.
Radiocarbon and DNA evidence for a pre-Columbian introduction of Polynesian chickens to Chile
Proceedings of the …, 2007
Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction.
Polynesian chickens in the New World: a detailed application of a commensal approach
Archaeology in Oceania, 2013
In 2007, based on direct radiocarbon dates, we presented evidence that chickens were introduced to Chile before Europeans first made contact with the New World. The pre-Columbian age of the chicken bones and their mtDNA affinities with one of two prehistoric Pacific chicken haplogroups (E) led us to conclude that Polynesia was the most likely origin for these pre-Columbian chickens. Subsequently, the mtDNA and radiocarbon evidence provided has been applied to a range of studies and occasionally reinterpreted. This has revealed issues related to the brevity of the initial report in 2007. Here, we provide a full discussion of the evidence, including the relevant archaeological, historical and biological information necessary to provide the context for interpreting genetic analyses and understanding their implications for addressing archaeological questions. We include a comprehensive analysis of the isotope data within a geographical and temporally relevant dataset to verify the pre-Columbian age of the El Arenal chickens. In addition, we provide longer DNA sequences obtained from some of the ancient Chilean chicken remains to address objections raised by critics and to demonstrate that longer sequences do not change the observed affinities of the mtDNA sequences, nor their interpretation. In this analysis, historical information is used to critically evaluate the results of phylogenetic analyses. This comprehensive approach demonstrates that the examination of modern chicken DNA sequences does not contribute to our understanding of the origins of Chile's earliest chickens. Interpretations based on poorly sourced and documented modern chicken populations, divorced from the archaeological and historical evidence, do not withstand scrutiny. Instead, this expanded account will confirm the pre-Columbian age of the El Arenal remains and lend support to our original hypothesis that their appearance in South America is most likely due to Polynesian contact with the Americas in prehistory.
2020
The San Diego Presidio, established in AD 1769, was the first European settlement in Upper California. Very little is known about chicken husbandry in colonial America, which makes this study the first comprehensive analysis of chicken remains in North America. Chickens are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts describing early California, and information on their sex, age, or management is rare. The faunal assemblage from the San Diego Presidio yielded 20 avian and 14 mammalian species. Chicken remains were studied through a wide range of zooarchaeological methods, including taphonomy, biometry, medullary bone, epiphyseal fusion, butchering, and body-part representation. Taphonomic analysis indicates good preservation of the bone assemblage. The biometric study points to two breeds of chickens: a smaller (bantam) breed alongside a standard-size chicken. The percentage of juvenile chickens (23%), the rooster/hen ratio (1:8.5), and high proportion of medullary bone point to on-site chicken husbandry focusing on meat and egg production. The historical record suggests that California presidios were not self-sufficient and that they relied on food provisioned from Mexico and nearby missions. We argue that small-scale poultry production, likely managed by women and children, provided California presidios with a form of subsistence independence.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014
Significance Ancient DNA sequences from chickens provide an opportunity to study their human-mediated dispersal across the Pacific due to the significant genetic diversity and range of archaeological material available. We analyze ancient and modern material and reveal that previous studies have been impacted by contamination with modern chicken DNA and, that as a result, there is no evidence for Polynesian dispersal of chickens to pre-Columbian South America. We identify genetic markers of authentic ancient Polynesian chickens and use them to model early chicken dispersals across the Pacific. We find connections between chickens in the Micronesian and Bismarck Islands, but no evidence these were involved in dispersals further east. We also find clues about the origins of Polynesian chickens in the Philippines.
Data from morphology, linguistics, history, and archaeology have all been used to trace the dispersal of chickens from Asian domestication centers to their current global distribution. Each provides a unique perspective which can aid in the reconstruction of prehistory. This study expands on previous investigations by adding a temporal component from ancient DNA and, in some cases, direct dating of bones of individual chickens from a variety of sites in Europe, the Pacific, and the Americas. The results from the ancient DNA analyses of forty-eight archaeologically derived chicken bones provide support for archaeological hypotheses about the prehistoric human transport of chickens. Haplogroup E mtDNA signatures have been amplified from directly dated samples originating in Europe at 1000 B.P. and in the Pacific at 3000 B.P. indicating multiple prehistoric dispersals from a single Asian centre. These two dispersal pathways converged in the Americas where chickens were introduced both by Polynesians and later by Europeans. The results of this study also highlight the inappropriate application of the small stretch of D-loop, traditionally amplified for use in phylogenetic studies, to understanding discrete episodes of chicken translocation in the past. The results of this study lead to the proposal of four hypotheses which will require further scrutiny and rigorous future testing.