Origin of the domestic chicken from modern biological and zooarchaeological approaches

Multiple lines of evidence of early goose domestication in a 7,000-y-old rice cultivation village in the lower Yangtze River, China

“…However, these discoveries are limited by the scarcity of candidate chicken bones from Neolithic and Bronze age archaeological sites in China ( 9 ), and contrast with various sources: the findings of a review of Holocene paleoclimate and archaeofaunal archives ( 10 ), the results of ecological niche modeling of extant red junglefowl—the main wild progenitor of domestic chicken— ( 11 ), the mitochondrial DNA diversity of modern domestic chicken in northern China ( 12 ), and records in assigned strata and species identification ( 13 ). To the best of our knowledge, there are no domestic chicken bones older than those found in the Middle Holocene that are reliable in terms of identification and age ( 14 ). Although Wang et al.…”

“…With respect to the earliest evidence of domestication, chickens have been observed between the third and second millennium BC; geese, turkeys, and peafowl from the second millennium BC; and ducks and pigeons from the first millennium BC ( 1 , 2 , 5 ). Although studies have found domestic chicken bones dating to the ninth millennium BC and, thus, reported a much longer history of chicken domestication ( 6 – 8 ), the reliability of these studies is questionable ( 5 , 9 – 14 ). In this study, we analyzed goose bones from Tianluoshan in southern China to investigate if the history of the domesticated goose—currently a minor poultry species—dates back to the fifth millennium BC, thereby making geese the oldest domesticated poultry species in history.…”

Unveiling new perspective of phylogeography, genetic diversity, and population dynamics of Southeast Asian and Pacific chickens

“…The timing and location of chicken domestication have been the subject of protracted debate worldwide and have stimulated several molecular studies using modern biological and zooarchaeological data 8 , 9 , 11 – 13 , 20 , 31 . The consensus among researchers and several molecular studies confirmed that domestic chickens evolved from red junglefowl somewhere in South and Southeast Asia 7 , 8 , 11 , 28 , 31 , but identifying their exact geographic center of origin has been challenging 9 , 12 , 13 . Here, we present a comprehensive resolution of mitochondrial lineage diversity and phylogenetic analyses, population differentiation, demographic inference, and divergence time estimates of chickens in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.…”

“…Despite their global distribution, studies on the chicken domestication process and translocation history remain obscure. Modern biological and zooarchaeological approaches suggest that chicken domestication probably occurred across southwest China and Southeast Asia, involving one or more wild progenitors across their native geographical range 6 – 12 . Subsequently, domestic chickens have been translocated out of their domestication centers to every inhabited region by human migration and trade expansion.…”

Analysis of genome and methylation changes in Chinese indigenous chickens over time provides insight into species conservation

“…Animal genetic resources are the foundation of sustainable development of animal production industry, and are vital to food security and livelihoods of millions of people. Chicken ( Gallus gallus domesticus or Gallus domesticus ) is the most common domestic animal worldwide 1 . Nearly 1,600 different indigenous chicken breeds are internationally recognised (FAO, 2020; http://www.fao.org/poultry-production-products/production/poultry-species/chickens/en/ ).…”