The earliest evidence of chicken in Italy

Abstract

The chicken (Gallus domesticus) originates from the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), a bird found in south and south-east Asia. The timing of the initial domestication, as well as its spread to western Asia and Europe, are still unclear. In Italy, the species was likely to have been introduced in the early Iron Age, though the precise chronology of this event is hitherto unconfirmed. By the 6th – 5th century BC, chicken remains occur at several Italian sites. Probably, the bird was originally raised for its symbolic value rather than for food, as its presence in early and mid-Iron Age cultic archaeological contexts suggests.We have re-analysed remains identified as ‘chicken’ from a cinerary hut urn found at Montecucco in central Italy during a 19th century archaeological investigation, to verify identification and establish an ante quem date for the introduction of the chicken in Italy. The analysis of these remains, combined with a review of additional zooarchaeological and iconographic evidence, has allowed us to push back the date of the earliest presence of this bird in Italy to at least the first half of the 9th century BC. This has also relevance for our understanding of the dynamics of chicken diffusion in the rest of Europe.