Pages: 127-135 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp212109126
In this article the authors consider the bone remains of chicken, the most common bird species on Earth, at thearchaeological sites of the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the Northern and Central China. The authors also analyze somehypotheses on the processes of domestication of birds in this region. Currently, the domestication of chicken in northern China dates back to 6000—8000 years BC, but in recent years in the scientific literature there are also publications that consider even earlier dates — about 10,000 years BC. At the moment, there are about 70 archaeological sites in this region, dating back to the time before the 7th cent. BC (before the appearance of written sources directly attesting the poultrykeeping), where osteological material of the genus Gallus is indicated among other finds. Nevertheless, the proportion of anatomically identifiable bones on almost all the sites is not high, so it is difficult to determine the species and subspecies of bone remains. Despite the fact that these finds in publications are usually designated as “the bones of domesticated birds”, according to the special zooarchaeological studies, only three samples out of all the collections described could really belong to this genus. Thus, chicken during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in northern China were quite rare.
Keywords: Northern and Central China, Neolithic, Bronze Age, osteological remains, chicken, domestication, zooarcheology
Information about authors:
Daniil Shulga (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Siberian Institute of Management, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). Nizhegorodskaya St., 6, Novosibirsk, 630102, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
Ekaterina Girchenko (Novosibirsk, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Akademik Lavrentiev Ave., 17, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]