(CN) — In the age old riddle of which came first, the chicken or the egg, new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday suggests the answer might actually be rice.
A novel analysis of chicken remains from 600 sites in 89 countries suggests wild junglefowl may have initially been attracted to human settlements growing rice in the central Thai village of Ban Non Wat between 1650 and 1250 BCE, sparking the beginning of a millennium’s-long culinary relationship.
“Our hypothesis assigning a key role to rice and millet cultivation for early Gallus management is novel, and no doubt other researchers have alternative explanations as to how chickens became incorporated in human economies,” explained one of the paper’s authors Joris Peters via email. Peters is a professor of veterinary sciences at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
Primordial rice patties replaced primary forest with secondary vegetation, in addition to waste from human cooking and consumption, leaving an environment ripe for red junglefowl to feast. Red junglefowl, or Gallus gallus, are a tropical bird endemic to southeast Asia, and believed to be the common ancestor for modern domesticated chicken.
Other research has suggested domesticated chickens dated back more than 10,000 years, originating in southern Indian or northern China before migrating to Europe. But Peters’ analysis found many of the Holocene birds found in China were in fact pheasant, not domesticated chickens.
Previous Bronze Age analyses also may have mistook wild junglefowl for domesticated chickens. In several cases, chicken bones actually dated to later periods than other artifacts in ancient sites, suggesting they weren’t part of the original site.
Though the bird spread quickly along trade routes, the paper estimated chickens didn't arrive in Central China, South Asia and Mesopotamia until around 1000 BCE. Chickens likely arrived in Ethiopia and Mediterranean Europe around 800 BCE.
By the European researchers’ calculations, chickens did not spread through Southeast Africa and the Indian Ocean until around 700 CE, alongside the spread of other Asian staples like rice and mung bean, according to the paper.
"Cut marks on individual chicken bones found as refuse are not present until several centuries later, suggesting that the first chickens were initially revered rather than consumed,” the researchers argued. “Since the regular keeping of chickens for food did not take place until centuries after their arrival in Europe, this also undermines the hypothesis that meat consumption drove the chicken’s transition to a domestic bird."
Past research had also proposed cockfighting as a driver of chicken domestication.
More evidence is needed to support the notion that chickens were domesticated earlier or originated in other regions. Peters said members of this team are continuing to conduct additional field work and analysis to provide more evidence.
“Since challenging two mainstream views on the spatio-temporal origins of the domestic chicken, controversy can be expected regarding our critical reappraisal that excluded systematically isolated chicken bones collected in complex stratigraphic situations containing historic strata,” Peters explained.
Since the paper maps out conservative estimates for the origins of the domesticated chicken, further radiocarbon dating, or field findings may support earlier time episodes.
Still the question of where chickens were first domesticated and when offers unique insight into early civilizations.
“In the case of the chicken, its management demonstrates the ability of prehistoric communities inhabiting the natural range of the red junglefowl to successfully take on new challenges, which then helped to sustainably expand human subsistence over time,” Peters said.
Follow @bright_lamp
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
