Chicken by Jacob Laughton https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv Gallus gallus domesticus en-us 2023-10-15 16:12:15 UTC 2023-10-18 07:57:44 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f414.png Order: Galliformes jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746883800 Galliformes are heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds and account for the majority of domestic bird species.]]> 2023-10-15 16:29:42 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746883800 Family: Phasianidae jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746885267 There are 185 species, across 54 genera, and include chickens, pheasants, junglefowl, partridges, and turkeys.]]> 2023-10-15 16:31:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746885267 Genus: Gallus jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746887433 This genus refers to the four extant junglefowl species:
  • Red junglefowl (Gallus gallus)
  • Sri Lankan junglefowl (Gallus lafayetti)
  • Grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii)
  • Green junglefowl (Gallus varius)

These species all naturally inhabit Southeast Asia.
]]> 2023-10-15 16:34:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746887433 Species: Gallus gallus domesticus jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746887752 The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is generally agreed to have been domesticated from the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus).]]> 2023-10-15 16:34:44 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746887752 Ecology jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746913922 Chickens are remarkably simple animals to manage by humans:
  • They can be kept within a settlement because of their small size compared to most domestic animals.
  • They are omnivorous animals - consuming seeds, other plant matter, and small invertebrates, household waste - capable of sourcing their own food.
]]> 2023-10-15 17:07:54 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746913922 Anatomy jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746914065 2023-10-15 17:08:08 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746914065 Importance to humans jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746914259 The chicken is found across all levels of society throughout history (Serjeantson 2009, 267). 

Humans exploit them in a variety of ways that are visible today and in the archaeological record:
  • Meat and eggs
  • Clothing (feathers and skins) and ornamentation (feathers and bones)
  • Ritual and iconography - i.e., cockfighting and exoticism.
  • Pets



]]> 2023-10-15 17:08:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746914259 Global distribution jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746918203 The chicken is the most widespread domestic animal in the world.

Click here for link to article.]]> 2023-10-15 17:13:58 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2746918203 Spurs jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749362299 Cockerels - and most other male Galliformes - are defined by a spur (bony projection) on the medial tarsometatarsus.
  • However, spurs are present in a small number of female chickens.
  • Immature cockerels are identified by a spur scar, the site where the spur fuses.

Spurs also have a potential in the ageing of male chickens as they form and fuse after they have reached sexual maturity (around 4 months old).
  • For example, Doherty et al. (2021) - analysing male chickens of known age - show that the spur only appears significantly fused in individuals >2 years old.
  • Additionally, the spur was only fused in all individuals >6 years old.
]]> 2023-10-16 18:16:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749362299 Medullary bone jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749362654 A characteristic of most female birds is the development of medullary bone around and during the time of egg laying. 
  • In effect, it is an additional supply of calcium - stored in the bone - that is used in egg calcification.

It is common in the femur and tibiotarsus, an element often fragmented in the archaeological record.
  • A high incidence of chicken medullary bone in archaeological sites may indicate their management for egg production. 

]]> 2023-10-16 18:16:14 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749362654 Taphonomy jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749363734 Chicken bones are difficult to recover in the archaeological record as a consequence of their small size and high fragmentation.
  • Fragmentation may be caused through non-anthropogenic action - exaggerated by their pneumatic nature - or through anthropogenic processes such as butchery.

They are also very difficult to identify in the archaeological record as they are morphologically similar to other members of the Phasianidae family (i.e., pheasants and partridges).
  • This is developed upon in the discussion of chicken domestication.


]]> 2023-10-16 18:16:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749363734 Sex-specific features jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749434627 The chicken is a sexually dimorphic species with various differences between male (cockerels) and female (hens) chickens.
  • At its simplest, cockerel bones are generally longer and broader than hen bones.
  • However, the long histories of domestication have produced many breeds whose size differences vary between and within sexes.

]]> 2023-10-16 19:04:15 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2749434627 Chickens in the archaeological record jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2750996303 2023-10-17 15:15:00 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2750996303 Chicken husbandry practices, A.K.A. eggsploitation jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751001385 The 'eggsploitation' of chickens is generally considered from a dietary perspective (their meat and eggs). Therefore, there is an extensive literature related to this exploitation and a variety of methods considered.]]> 2023-10-17 15:17:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751001385 Evidence of intensive egg production from medullary bone (Lentacker and van Neer 1996) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751125391 The authors analyse avifaunal remains from a Roman military fort ('Abu Sha'ar) and harbour (Berenike).
  • I'm focusing on Berenike as 92.5% of avifaunal remains were chicken (161/186); only 16.4% (9/55) of avifaunal remains at 'Abu Sha'ar were identified as chicken.

Analysis of chicken bones (n = 161) from Berenike showed that 66% of all bones contained medullary bone.
  • These were from pre-existing fragmented material and bones fragmented during the analysis.
  • This suggests that hens were slaughtered towards the end of the laying season as medullary bone is resorbed 1-3 weeks after laying.
  • The presence of immature chicken remains also supports this interpretation having been killed for their meat.
]]> 2023-10-17 16:19:34 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751125391 Diachronic changes in chicken husbandry across the United Kingdom (Doherty et al. 2021) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751130313 The authors developed a formula - following their analysis of spurs on cockerels of known age - to apply in archaeological contexts.
  • Using this formula, the authors analysed 160 tarsometatarsi from the UK dating from the Iron Age to modern period.

Their analysis identified changing patterns in chicken husbandry across this period:
Cockerels, with spurs, were predominant in the Iron Age and Roman periods attesting to their non-dietary function - i.e., cockfighting - that is common across Europe in these periods.
  • From the Saxon to Norman periods, cockerels are less predominant and generally younger suggesting an increased focus on meat and egg production. This is associated with bans on the consumption of four-legged animals with the rise of Christianity. 
  • Juvenile chicken bones are predominant from the High Medieval to Early Modern periods suggesting an emphasis on meat production. However, cockerels are present in significant numbers and at older ages associated with a renewed interest in cockfighting.

]]> 2023-10-17 16:22:36 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751130313 Using ZooMS to identify chicken egg production from archaeological eggshell (Spengler et al. 2022) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751136651 This paper focused on the identification of chicken husbandry in 12 sites (residential (n  = 11); burial (n=1)) in Central Asia along the Silk Road.
  • They were interested in the dispersal of domestic chicken beyond its natural range and their exploitation.
  • The sites ranged in age from the last centuries BCE to medieval period (c.1200 CE).

Eggshell was sampled from sediments across all sites; at each site they were recovered in significant quantities.
  • Eighteen fragments were selected for ZooMS - all fragments from residential sites were identified as chicken.
  • They were also distinguished from close relatives using Liquid Chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
  • The ubiquity of chicken eggshell was suggested to represent intensive egg production with the chickens having lost the natural habit of the red junglefowl (1 brood per year of ~6 eggs).


]]> 2023-10-17 16:26:30 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751136651 A reconstruction of chicken husbandry practices in Roman Britain (Maltby et al. 2018) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751224854 2023-10-17 17:16:21 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751224854 A reconstruction of chicken husbandry practices in Roman and Anglo-Saxon Britain jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751226080 2023-10-17 17:17:03 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751226080 Examples of papers integrating multiple methods to reconstruct chicken husbandry practices jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751227701 2023-10-17 17:18:01 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751227701 Eggshell jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751274371 Though not strictly part of the chicken's skeletal anatomy, the eggshell is a common encounter on archaeological sites where they were managed.
  • This are generally very fragmented though are visible to the naked eye when in significant quantities.
  • Their fragmentation and small size requires the wet sieving of sediments in which they are found.

]]> 2023-10-17 17:46:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751274371 The social chicken jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751391652 Chickens are generally considered from a dietary perspective in the archaeological record. 
  • However, there is considerable evidence attesting to their ritual/religious roles in society prior to any significant evidence for meat/egg production.
]]> 2023-10-17 18:58:19 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751391652 Chickens in Roman burials jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751402443 There is a surprisingly high number of Roman burials in which a chicken - buried in a pot - is associated.
  • The chicken was regarded as food for the afterlife being found predominantly in cooking pots.
  • They were also associated with Mercury - the god of merchants, travellers, and travellers alongside the guide to the underworld - being considered to 'herald in the new day'.

For example, 9/111 Roman burials at Hungate, York, (pictured above) possessed a chicken and parallels evidence across the Roman empire.
  • Significant quantities of chicken bones were also found at the Temple of Mithras in London.

Click here for the article on chicken burials at Roman Hungate, York.
]]> 2023-10-17 19:06:43 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751402443 Human-headed roosters from a wall painting from Akchakhan-kala, Central Asia (Betts et al. 2012) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751408674 The chicken is also regarded with significant power in Zoroastrian beliefs, and particularly in the Avestan cult as depicted in the wall painting above.

Click here for the article on these wall paintings.]]> 2023-10-17 19:11:23 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751408674 Chicken burials in the High-Medieval Basque Country, Spain (Grau-Sologestoa 2018) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751416584 Evidence of votive offerings/deposits are also recorded in a High-Medieval (12th-13th centuries CE) Christian context in Basque Country, Spain. 
  • Here, at least six chicken burials have been recorded in the foundations of buildings in this region.
  • This is considered evidence of a continuity of folk religion alongside the more formalised Christian practices in this period.
]]> 2023-10-17 19:17:22 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751416584 Evidence of cockfighting in Medieval Norway (Walker and Meijer 2020) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751433850 Cockfighting is a bloodsport that has been practiced wherever the chicken has been introduced.

In this article, the authors analysed the tarsometarsi and argued that cockfighting was common practice in Medieval Norway alongside the keeping of chickens for meat and eggs.
  • This was suggested by a high percentage of adult male cockerels possessing a fused spur (49% or 128/258 bones analysed).
  • Additionally, 16/128 tibiometatarsi had the spur deliberately removed (pictured above) which is common in cockerels kept for cockfighting. 
]]> 2023-10-17 19:31:20 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751433850 Chicken domestication jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751489589 The geographic location and timing of chicken domestication is intensely debated.
  • It was generally accepted since the 19th century that chickens were domesticated form the red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) because of their similar morphology and behaviour.
  • However, mtDNA and nuDNA analysis in the 21st century attests to their being multiple origins of the domestic chicken (see Wang et al. (2020) (left)).
]]> 2023-10-17 20:18:48 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751489589 Northern China as a domestication centre? jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751491368 2023-10-17 20:20:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751491368 Multiple origins of chicken domestication (Wang et al. 2020) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751532328 In this study, the authors sequenced the whole genomes of 863 birds (including 627 domestic chickens and the rest junglefowl).
  • They identified that the chicken's wild progenitor is Gallus gallus spadiceus, a subspecies of red junglefowl in southwest China, Thailand, and Myanmar.
  • However, 22.4% of their DNA is derived from other red junglefowl subspecies and junglefowl species associated with their distribution across South and Southeast Asia.
  • In addition to the hybridity, they produced an upper bound for domestication with the wild ancestor of the chicken having diverged from Gallus g. spadiceus ~15,000 years ago.
]]> 2023-10-17 21:02:55 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751532328 Evidence for a North Chinese domestication jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751537979 Northern China is one of a few regions in which agriculture was independently developed in the Neolithic period.
  • Associated with this, however, is the controversial view that the chicken was also domesticated in this period and in this region.
  • Proponents of this view argue that the oldest chicken bones are recorded in this region, dating to approximately 8,000 years ago.


]]> 2023-10-17 21:10:14 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751537979 Mitochondrial evidence for chicken domestication in Northern China (Xiang et al. 2014) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751541691 The view that chickens were domesticated in Northern China was most recently supported by a mitochondrial study by Xiang et al. (2014).
  • Thirteen mitochondrial genomes from archaeological chicken specimens - from Neolithic sites in Northern China - were sequenced.
  • All specimens were identified as a chicken, presenting evidence for their domestication in Northern China.
]]> 2023-10-17 21:15:10 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751541691 Controversy surrounding Xiang et al.'s (2014) study jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751542731 The results from Xiang et al. (2014), that the oldest domestic chickens are found in Northern China, have been heavily criticised by a series of papers.
  • Some of these are highlighted here.
]]> 2023-10-17 21:16:35 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751542731 No evidence of chickens in an Early Neolithic site in northwest China (Barton et al. 2020) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751546620 In this paper, the authors sequenced the mitochondrial genome of purported chickens (n=8) from the Neolithic site of Dadiwan in northwest China.
  • These samples ranged from 7900-5900 cal BP.
  • Notably, no sample was identified as a chicken but rather as a common ring-necked pheasant.

]]> 2023-10-17 21:21:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751546620 A response to Xiang et al. (2014) by Peters et al. (2015) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751552708 Very shortly after the Xiang et al. (2014) a response was levied by Peters et al. (2015) that noticed several flaws in the paper such as:
  1. The wild junglefowl are tropical animals, a climate that is not supported in North China today nor in palaeoclimatic records.
  2. 'Chicken bones' included in the study also included Canid bones (see the figure above).
  3. Xiang et al. (2014) argued that there were no post-Neolithic cultural layers at the sites studied in which chicken bones may persist. This is not true at all.
  4. There are flaws in the design and presentation of the DNA sequencing and primers.

]]> 2023-10-17 21:29:17 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751552708 No evidence of chicken bones in Neolithic and Bronze Age Northern China (Eda et al. 2016) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751556569 One of the most significant criticisms came from a paper by Eda et al. (2016) in which 1831 birds, including 429 purported chicken bones, were analysed from 18 Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Northern China.
  • Impressively, none of the bones analysed could be identified as a chicken or junglefowl with the pheasant being predominant.

This was achieved using various morphological criteria that distinguish between Gallus and Phasianus species.
  • For example, pheasant femur's possess a pneumatic foramen on the greater trochanter that is absent in Gallus species.
]]> 2023-10-17 21:34:45 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2751556569 Application of ZooMS to distinguishing between chicken and pheasant (Eda et al. 2020) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752139543 The application of ZooMS has also been applied to the question of chicken vs. pheasant. This is particularly important where the chicken was introduced into regions with indigenous pheasant populations.
  • The article here is a 'proof-of-concept' showing the distinct collagen peptide mass fingerprints for the chicken and the pheasant in Japan.
]]> 2023-10-18 06:03:28 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752139543 The oldest unambiguous evidence for domestic chicken and their subsequent dispersal (Peters et al. 2022) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752177818 This significant and recent paper synthesised archaeological data from >600 sites across 89 countries to explore the domestication and dispersal of the chicken.
In agreement with Wang et al. (2020), the oldest unambiguous domestic chicken were found in Thailand at the Neolithic site Ban Non Wat and dating to ~1650-1250 BCE.

It was also possible to record the appearance of the domestic chicken beyond the wild junglefowl's natural range; for example:
  • Chickens are not reliably attested in the Indian subcontinent until post-1200 BCE (Jorwe period).
  • They are not recorded in Southwest Asia until ~1000 BCE.
  • In Northeast Africa, chickens are found from ~800 BCE onwards.
  • Chickens are also found in Mediterranean Europe post-800 BCE.
  • In Japan, chickens were not present until c.100 BCE (middle Yayoi period).

]]> 2023-10-18 06:35:11 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752177818 Changes in chicken morphology and behaviour jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752196193 In addition to the origins and timings of chicken domestication there is also focus on the morphological and behavioural changes of the chicken compared to wild junglefowl species.]]> 2023-10-18 06:50:49 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752196193 Reduction of wing size in captive junglefowl and domestic chickens (Eda 2022) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752207770 In this study, the major long bones of the forelimb and hindlimb was measured in modern wild junglefowl, captive junglefowl, and chicken species.
Overall, captive junglefowl and chickens were smaller than the wild junglefowl species.
Notably, the forelimb in captive junglefowl and chickens was thinner than the wild junglefowl; vice-versa for the hindlimb.

Eda (2022) argues that if these processes in modern animals are paralleled with ancient animals then in it is possible to understand the effect of early domestication in the archaeological record.]]> 2023-10-18 07:00:29 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752207770 Extended egg-laying period jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752213806 In wild junglefowl, a single brood is laid (~ 6 eggs) by a hen every year.
  • However, where these eggs are removed the hen will continue to lay eggs.

This behaviour has been significantly enhanced by humans to which it is now possible for chickens to lay all year round.
  • Egg laying, however, may slow down during winter months.
]]> 2023-10-18 07:05:40 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752213806 Yellow skin in chicken legs (Eriksson et al. 2008; Fink et al. 2014) jl4112_2 https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752229058 The red junglefowl - the principal wild ancestor of the chicken - has grey skin whereas the chicken has yellow skin.
  • The colour of their skin is regulated by the BCDO2 gene.

Genetic analysis by Eriksson et al. (2008) found that the yellow skin of chickens is a inherited trait from the grey junglefowl (Gallus sonneratii).
  • This was used to support a multiple origin of domestic chickens.
  • More recent analysis of western domestic chicken breeds by Fink et al. (2014) - of 80 chickens from 12 European archaeological sites (c.300 BCE to 18th century CE) has shown that this yellow-skin mutation was only heavily selected for in the past 500 years.
]]> 2023-10-18 07:17:47 UTC https://padlet.com/jl4112_2/vvquat8d00cexqiv/wish/2752229058