Amazing stuff! What came first? Eggs for breakfast since 400 BCE!
"... There are at least 26 billion chickens in the world right now, more than double the number from 1990. That’s more than any other vertebrate and at least one order of magnitude greater than any other bird. ... over a year around 60 billion chickens are slaughtered ...
A team of archaeologists and biologists have found the earliest evidence of chickens raised specifically for their eggs. Some date from as early as 400 BCE in Central Asia. The scientists argue that at least as early as about 2,500 years ago, the domesticated chicken had lost the seasonal egg-laying seen in its wild counterpart. ..."
A team of archaeologists and biologists have found the earliest evidence of chickens raised specifically for their eggs. Some date from as early as 400 BCE in Central Asia. The scientists argue that at least as early as about 2,500 years ago, the domesticated chicken had lost the seasonal egg-laying seen in its wild counterpart. ..."
"... In a new study published by Nature Communications, an international team of scholars present the earliest clear archaeological and biomolecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 archaeological sites spanning one and a half millennia. The research indicates that the domestic chicken, now a staple in diets around the world, is not as ancient as previously thought. ...
Using eggshell fragments collected from 12 archaeological sites spanning roughly 1500 years, the researchers show that chickens were widely raised in Central Asia from approximately 400 BCE to 1000 CE and were likely dispersed along the ancient Silk Road. The abundance of eggshells further suggests that the birds were laying out of season. It was this trait of prolific egg laying, the researchers argue, that made the domestic chicken so attractive to ancient peoples. ..."
"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"
When Did the Chicken Cross the Road? New Evidence from Central Asia (original news release) New research reveals that chickens were widely raised across southern Central Asia from 400 BCE through medieval periods and likely dispersed along the ancient Silk Road
Fig. 2: A compilation of evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia.
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