Files and links (1)
Earliest_Mexican_TurkeysCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication
PloS one., Vol.7(8), p.e42630
2012
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/5726
Abstract
Late Preclassic (300 BC–AD 100) turkey remains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) represent the earliest evidence of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) in the ancient Maya world. Archaeological, zooarchaeological, and ancient DNA evidence combine to confirm the identification and context. The natural pre-Hispanic range of the Mexican turkey does not extend south of central Mexico, making the species non-local to the Maya area where another species, the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata), is indigenous. Prior to this discovery, the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo in the Maya area dated to approximately one thousand years later. The El Mirador specimens therefore represent previously unrecorded Preclassic exchange of animals from northern Mesoamerica to the Maya cultural region. As the earliest evidence of M. gallopavo found outside its natural geographic range, the El Mirador turkeys also represent the earliest indirect evidence for Mesoamerican turkey rearing or domestication. The presence of male, female and sub-adult turkeys, and reduced flight morphology further suggests that the El Mirador turkeys were raised in captivity. This supports an argument for the origins of turkey husbandry or at least captive rearing in the Preclassic.
Metrics
260 File views/ downloads
421 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication
- Creators
- Erin Kennedy Thornton (Author)Kitty F. Emery (Author)Camilla Speller (Author)David Steadman (Author)Ray Matheny (Author)Dongya Yang (Author)
- Publication Details
- PloS one., Vol.7(8), p.e42630
- Academic Unit
- Anthropology, Department of
- Identifiers
- 99900502490301842
- Copyright
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International ; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article