According to the investigation, the chickens were originally tempted from the trees and were domesticated by the rice.
Chicken is one of the most popular foods in the world today, with over a billion birds slaughtered annually in the UK alone. But researchers at the University of Exeter, Oxford University and Cardiff University say in a new study that birds are actually a relatively new addition to our farms.
Chickens were previously thought to have been raised for the table until 10,000 years ago, but the new report, published in the journal Antiquity, suggests that humans did not come into close contact with chickens until about 1500 BC.
The researchers used carbon dating to establish the age of 23 of the first proposed chickens found in western Eurasia and northwest Africa. Most of the bones were much newer than previously thought.
Cardinal University Dr Julia Best said: “This is the first time radiocarbon dating has been used at this scale to determine the importance of chickens in early societies. Our results demonstrate the need for dating. directly the proposed early specimens, as this allows us to have a clearer picture of our early interactions with chickens. “
Chickens, native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia, did not reach Europe until about 800 BC. Then, after reaching the Mediterranean region, the chickens took almost 1,000 more years to settle in the colder climates of Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia and Iceland.
Experts re-evaluated the remains of chicken found in more than 600 sites in 89 countries. The oldest bones of a definite domestic chicken were found in the Neolithic Ban Non Wat in central Thailand, which dates from 1650 BC to 1250 BC.
Researchers say humans came into contact with jungle birds, which lived high in the trees, during the cultivation of dry rice. The ancient ancestors of domestic chickens were tempted from the trees by the rice.
Once domesticated, the chickens were transported first through Asia and then across the Mediterranean by routes used by the first Greek, Etruscan, and Phoenician sea traders.
Professor Greger Larson of Oxford University said: “This comprehensive re-evaluation of chickens first demonstrates the extent to which our understanding of the timing and location of chicken domestication was incorrect. And even more exciting, we show how the arrival of dry rice agriculture acted as a catalyst for both the process of domestication of chicken and its global dispersal. “
Previous research has shown that chickens were not initially domesticated for food, but as exotic. Previous studies have found that chickens appeared to be respected in the Iron Age society, for example, and were often buried whole and without killing, with their hens or even their human owners. Chickens and their eggs began to become popular as food during the Roman Empire.
Professor Naomi Sykes of the University of Exeter said: “Eating chickens is so common that people think we’ve never eaten them. Our evidence shows that our past relationship with chickens was much more complex and that for centuries the chickens were celebrated and revered. “