1.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 105(48): E99; author reply E100, 2008 Dec 02.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19033182
Subject(s)
Chickens/genetics , DNA, Mitochondrial/genetics , Isotopes , Radiometric Dating , Animals , Chile , Diet , Europe , History, 15th Century , History, Medieval , Humans , Polynesia
2.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 104(25): 10335-9, 2007 Jun 19.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17556540
ABSTRACT
Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction.