Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia

The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals. The lack of agreement concerning timing and centers of origin is due to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor...

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Published in:Nature communications 2024-04, Vol.15 (1), p.2697-2697, Article 2697
Main Authors: Peters, Carli, Richter, Kristine K., Wilkin, Shevan, Stark, Sören, Mir-Makhamad, Basira, Fernandes, Ricardo, Maksudov, Farhod, Mirzaakhmedov, Sirojidin, Rahmonov, Husniddin, Schirmer, Stefanie, Ashastina, Kseniia, Begmatov, Alisher, Frachetti, Michael, Kurbanov, Sharof, Shenkar, Michael, Hermes, Taylor, Kidd, Fiona, Omelchenko, Andrey, Huber, Barbara, Boivin, Nicole, Wang, Shujing, Lurje, Pavel, von Baeyer, Madelynn, Dal Martello, Rita, Spengler, Robert N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/1647/2067
631/208/1348
706/689/19/27
706/689/236
Animals
Animals, Domestic
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Asia
Bones
Chickens
Chickens - genetics
Dispersal
Dispersion
Domestic animals
Egg laying
Egg production
Egg shells
Eggs
Historic sites
Humanities and Social Sciences
multidisciplinary
Ova
Poultry
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals. The lack of agreement concerning timing and centers of origin is due to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin, brittle bird bones. Here we show that chickens were widely raised across southern Central Asia from the fourth century BC through medieval periods, likely dispersing along the ancient Silk Road. We present archaeological and molecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 different archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens may have been an important part of the overall diet and that chickens may have lost seasonal egg-laying The origin and dispersal of the chicken across Eurasia is unclear. Here, the authors examine eggshell fragments from southern Central Asia with paleoproteomics to identify chicken eggshells, suggesting that chickens may have been an important dietary component as early as 400BCE.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-46093-2