Earliest Utilization of Chicken in Upper California: The Zooarchaeology of Avian Remains from the San Diego Royal Presidio

Abstract

The San Diego Presidio, established in AD 1769, was the first European settlement in Upper California. Very little is known about chicken husbandry in colonial America, which makes this study the first comprehensive analysis of chicken remains in North America. Chickens are scarcely mentioned in historical accounts describing early California, and information on their sex, age, or management is rare. The faunal assemblage from the San Diego Presidio yielded 20 avian and 14 mammalian species. Chicken remains were studied through a wide range of zooarchaeological methods, including taphonomy, biometry, medullary bone, epiphyseal fusion, butchering, and body-part representation. Taphonomic analysis indicates good preservation of the bone assemblage. The biometric study points to two breeds of chickens: a smaller (bantam) breed alongside a standard-size chicken. The percentage of juvenile chickens (23%), the rooster/hen ratio (1:8.5), and high proportion of medullary bone point to on-site chicken husbandry focusing on meat and egg production. The historical record suggests that California presidios were not self-sufficient and that they relied on food provisioned from Mexico and nearby missions. We argue that small-scale poultry production, likely managed by women and children, provided California presidios with a form of subsistence independence.