Pre-Columbian chickens, dates, isotopes and mtDNA

Abstract

Recently Gongora 'et al'. (1) stated that their analyses of chicken mtDNA and potential offsets for dietary marine carbon cast doubt on "claims for pre-Columbian chickens" in the Americas. We present additional data supporting the interpretation of Storey 'et al'. (2) showing that evidence for pre-Columbian chickens at the site of El Arenal, Chile, is secure. Gongora 'et al'. (1) analyzed mtDNA of modern chickens only. They gave no consideration to the fact that both European and prehistoric Pacific chickens are ultimately Asian-derived and thus may be expected to share lineages. European stocks were further influenced by the 19th-century import of Chinese chickens to develop commercial and show breeds (3). The authors also imply that the Indian/Asian/European mtDNA signature identified in our ancient Pacific and Chilean samples would not have been available for dispersal to the prehistoric Pacific. This is refuted by linguistic, archaeological, and ethnohistoric evidence (4).