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Pioneering Poultry: A Morphometric Investigation of Seventeenth- to Early Twentieth-Century Domestic Chickens (Gallus gallus) in Eastern North America

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Abstract

Chickens were among the first domesticates introduced by Europeans to North America, where they quickly became established. Morphometric analyses of chicken remains from sites in eastern Canada and the Northeastern USA demonstrate that founding populations likely came from several different types of chicken. Comparison of these data with English medieval and post-medieval assemblages reveals that continued selection for larger body size in both populations resulted in larger chickens. However, the physical proportions of these birds remained consistent across time and space until the nineteenth century, when breeders began producing specialized laying, broiler, and show birds with exaggerated characteristics.

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Funding

This study was funded by Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arizona State Museum, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tuscon, AZ, 85721, USA

    Martin H. Welker

  2. Private Zooarchaeological Consultant, 70 Lower Wyche Road, Malvern, WR14 4ET, UK

    Alison Foster

  3. School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Eric Tourigny

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  1. Martin H. Welker
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  2. Alison Foster
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Welker, M.H., Foster, A. & Tourigny, E. Pioneering Poultry: A Morphometric Investigation of Seventeenth- to Early Twentieth-Century Domestic Chickens (Gallus gallus) in Eastern North America. Int J Histor Archaeol 27, 458–479 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00630-7

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