Red junglefowl are regarded as the primary wild ancestor of domestic fowl and are thought to have been domesticated in multiple regions. The osteological microevolution of red junglefowl and domestic ...fowl during domestication, especially at the earliest stage, has still not been thoroughly investigated, despite the fact that a proper understanding of this process is required to chart the progress of domestication. In this paper, the major long bones of the modern wild red junglefowl, captive red junglefowl in cages, and domestic fowl from various breeds were measured and the data were compared using t-tests and analysis of covariance. The results showed that captive red junglefowl were generally smaller than wild red junglefowl but the distal part of tibiotarsus was relatively thicker in the former. In addition, parts of the wing bone were thinner in captive red junglefowl than in wild red junglefowl. Assuming the morphological difference between extant wild and captive red junglefowl is analogous to that between ancient wild and captive red junglefowl, these differences suggest that body size reduction and other morphological changes occurred in the earliest stage of the domestication process. These results will be useful for estimating the progress of domestication in red junglefowl archaeological remains and making comparisons with domestic fowl bones.
The Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus (Pallas, 1769) is a threatened seabird widely distributed in the northern Pacific Ocean with its largest breeding sites on the Senkaku Islands and ...Torishima Island, Japan, which are separated by over 1700 km. A recent taxonomic revision based on morphological, behavioral, and DNA sequence evidence has revealed that this species consists of two cryptic species: a smaller species which breeds mainly in the Senkaku Islands, and a larger species which breeds mainly on Torishima Island. However, it has remained unclear to which of these species the scientific name Phoebastria albatrus applies, because the type specimens are lost. Here a neotype is designated to resolve this taxonomic issue. From now on, the scientific name Phoebastria albatrus should be applied only to the smaller species breeding on the Senkaku Islands. The name of the larger species is more problematic, as the types of each synonym of P. albatrus must be traced, found, and examined.
Poultry are farmed globally, with chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) being the leading domesticated species. Although domestic chicken bones have been reported from some Early Holocene sites, their ...origin is controversial and there is no reliable domestic chicken bone older than the Middle Holocene. Here, we studied goose bones from Tianluoshan—a 7,000-y-old rice cultivation village in the lower Yangtze River valley, China—using histological, geochemical, biochemical, and morphological approaches. Histological analysis revealed that one of the bones was derived from a locally bred chick, although no wild goose species breed in southern China. The analysis of oxygen-stable isotope composition supported this observation and further revealed that some of the mature bones were also derived from locally bred individuals. The nitrogen-stable isotope composition showed that locally bred mature birds fed on foods different from those eaten by migrant individuals. Morphological analysis revealed that the locally bred mature birds were homogenous in size, whereas radiocarbon dating clearly demonstrated that the samples from locally bred individuals were ∼7,000 y old. The histological, geochemical, biochemical, morphological, and contextual evidence suggest that geese at Tianluoshan village were at an early stage of domestication. The goose population appears to have been maintained for several generations without the introduction of individuals from other populations and may have been fed cultivated paddy rice. These findings indicate that goose domestication dates back 7,000 y, making geese the oldest domesticated poultry species in history.
The chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is the most widespread domestic animal in the world. However, the timings and locations of their domestication have remained debatable for over a century. ...China, and particularly northern China, has been claimed as one of the early centers for the domestication of chickens, because many chicken remains have been discovered at a number of archaeological sites. However, the identification of archaeological domestic chicken bones from early Holocene sites in China remains contentious. In this study, we analyzed 1831 bird bones, which included 429 bones previously recorded as “domestic chicken” from 18 Neolithic and early Bronze Age sites in central and northern China. Although morphological species identification criteria for the bones of 55 modern Chinese Phasianidae species, including the domestic chicken and wild red junglefowls, have not yet been fully established, upon reanalysis none of the “domestic chicken” bones were derived from chickens. In addition, bones determined to be candidate chicken bones were found at only 2 of the 18 sites, suggesting that chickens were neither widely kept nor distributed in central and northern China during the early and middle Holocene period. Further studies that combine analyses of morphology, ancient DNA, and radiocarbon dating are required to fully reveal the origin and history of the domestic chicken in northern China.
•The first, early Holocene chicken domestication has been alleged in northern China.•We analyzed 280 Holocene Phasianidae bones from 18 sites in central/northern China.•Candidate chicken bones were rare and only found after middle Holocene layers.•It suggests chickens were not widely kept in northern China in the early Holocene.
•Chickens were the most frequently consumed bird throughout the Edo period.•Chickens included numerous juveniles and hens with medullary bone.•Immature bones and medullary bone suggest the ...utilisation of domestic geese and ducks.
Chickens, wild ducks, and geese were considered the main avifaunal food resources in early modern Japan. However, bird consumption in areas outside Edo (early modern Tokyo) has seldom been discussed. Nagasaki was the only place where trade with foreign countries occurred and where knowledge and culture from the West were introduced. Therefore, to understand bird utilisation in early modern Japan, comparing bird consumption in Nagasaki, which may have been subject to foreign influence, with that in the town of Edo might be beneficial. To elucidate bird consumption in Nagasaki, we analysed bird remains recovered from the Oranda Shokan site, which was inhabited by Dutch people in the early modern age. Our results revealed that chickens were the most frequently consumed birds throughout the Edo period (1603–1868), and those targeted for consumption included juveniles and hens. Other poultry such as domestic ducks and geese were also consumed at the site. These poultry consumption patterns are different from those observed in the town of Edo. The results of this study suggest the existence of regional differences in poultry consumption during the Edo period.
The chicken (
Gallus gallus domesticus
) is the most conventional domestic animal whose main ancestor is the red junglefowl, found in Southeastern Asia and the southern part of China. Chickens were ...believed to have been brought to the Japanese Archipelago through the Korean Peninsula during the Yayoi period, but its exact age is unknown. Based on the sexual dimorphism of morphology, we pointed out that most chickens in the Yayoi period were males and that they were rarely bred in Japanese Archipelago. During the 58th survey of the Karako-Kagi site (Tawaramoto Town, Nara Prefecture), four pieces of immature Phasianidae bone were excavated from a division groove dating from the early middle Yayoi period. In this study, we performed collagen peptide fingerprinting identification and radiocarbon dating of immature Phasianidae bones from the Karako-Kagi site. Consequently, two peptide mass peaks unique to chickens were observed in samples from the immature bones, which were revealed to be derived from immature chickens. The calibrated age of the sample was confirmed to be between the fourth and third century BCE, which coincided with the opening age of the division groove. These results suggest that chickens have been successively bred since the beginning of the middle Yayoi period, at least in the Karako-Kagi village. The date was regarded as the lower limit for the introduction of chickens into the Japanese Archipelago, Korean Peninsula, and East Asia.
Prehistoric hunter–gatherers in Northeast Asia lived along coastlines and made abundant use of coastal resources in their subsistence strategies. However, the extent to which they operated only along ...the coastline or sailed out into deeper waters for hunting and fishing remains rather uncertain. In this case-study, we reconstruct past subsistence strategies through analysis of albatross (Diomedeidae) remains recovered from two hunter–gatherer archaeological sites in Hokkaido, Northern Japan (the Funadomari site, from the late Jomon period on Rebun Island and the Bentenjima site, from the Okhotsk period on Bentenjima Island). Three questions are examined: (1) were the birds hunted for meat or for feathers; (2) were the birds procured at coastal breeding grounds or out on the open water; (3) was hunting conducted in the shallow waters of the continental shelf or out in the deeper ocean? Analysis of the bone assemblages, and species determination by ancient DNA, indicate that people must have been hunting the bird in the open waters at the edge of the continental shelf. This provides strong, although indirect, evidence that Jomon and Okhotsk Culture communities must have possessed ocean-going boats and suitable sea-faring skills in order to undertake these kinds of operations. These insights, in turn, hint at the existence of sophisticated maritime traditions in prehistoric Northeast Asia.
When secondary contact occurs between allopatric sister species, several evolutionary consequences are expected, such as reinforcement of reproductive isolation, hybrid speciation, de-speciation, ...introgressive hybridization, or formation of a stable hybrid zone. The Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) is a vulnerable seabird that breeds mainly in Torishima, the Izu Islands, and two islets in the Senkaku Islands in the western North Pacific. Recent studies revealed that Short-tailed Albatross comprises two cryptic species (Senkaku-type and Torishima-type) that breed sympatrically on Torishima. Ringed (hatched in Torishima) and unringed (probably hatched in the Senkaku Islands) birds mate in a mutually assortative manner at the Hatsunezaki colony (artificially established in 1995) on Torishima. However, observations of some ringed–unringed pairs suggest possible hybridization between the two cryptic species. To clarify the degree of hybridization, we analyzed microsatellite DNA and mitochondrial DNA control region 2 (CR2) sequences of chicks from Hatsunezaki and Tsubamezaki (original colony discovered in 1951) colonies and of unringed birds from Hatsunezaki. In general, both CR2 sequences and microsatellites revealed genetic differentiation between immigrants from the Senkaku Islands (unringed birds) and chicks hatched in Tsubamezaki. These findings support the existence of two cryptic species. Each chick obtained from four ringed–unringed parent pairs at Hatsunezaki displayed a high proportion of alleles from just a single population. In contrast, some chicks in Tsubamezaki had a medium proportion of alleles from both populations. Breeding unringed subadult plumage birds, which were probable immigrants from the Senkaku Islands, were observed in Hatsunezaki but not in Tsubamezaki. Therefore, we propose that interspecific pairing occurred in the past but infrequently in recent generations on Torishima, suggesting historical reinforcement of reproductive isolation. Further microsatellite DNA studies of chicks from Hatsunezaki are required to confirm whether reinforcement of reproductive isolation is achieved. Alternatively, nearly complete pre-mating isolation between the two species was established in the past, but the scarcity of Senkaku-type birds in Torishima has facilitated hybridization.
This reanalysis uses the zooarchaeological assemblage recovered from Spirit Cave to understand hunter-gatherer use and occupation at the site during the Pleistocene– Holocene transition. We analyze ...bone fragmentation, sample size, and relative abundance to establish the preservation and overall composition of the remaining fauna. Identification of several new taxa, including roundleaf bats (Hipposideros larvatus and bicolor), elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis), Burmese hare (Lepus cf. peguensis) and a potential red junglefowl (Phasianidae—? Gallus gallus) provide insights into hunter-gatherer occupation, palaeoecology, and subsistence strategies between 12,000 and 7000 years B.P. Our results indicate that Spirit Cave was occupied more sporadically than originally suggested; additionally, we identify new evidence for landscape disturbance during the early Holocene. Although this Spirit Cave zooarchaeological assemblage is incomplete, it remains an important component of Southeast Asian prehistory, providing evidence for human adaptations during a period of climatic change and instability.
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