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birdienlYes, I know I've been AWOL the last two weeks... I have been very busy at work and in the evenings I only wanted to crash on the couch and watch some tv. But I hope in the coming time I'll have some more time to post here. Beginning with a 100 things challenge post, about the subject which has been most on my mind in the last few weeks: chickens!
The current domestic chicken was domesticated from the Red Junglefowl, a tropical bird of the pheasant family and still scientifically belongs to the same species (Gallus gallus). The Red Jungle fowl itself can still be found in the wild in Eastern Asia. Three other closely related junglefowl species have most likely also contributed to our modern domestic chicken.
The exact date and place of the domestication of the chicken remains a puzzle, but it is believed to have occurred about 8000 years ago somewhere in Asia. Genetic studies point to multiple domestication events. The earliest archaeological evidence of domesticated chickens is found in China in the 6th millennium BC in a relatively widespread area. On Mesopotamian clay tablets of 2000 BC, mentions of chickens are found. In Egypt around this time, depictions of the birds adorned royal tombs. The ancient Egyptians also first mastered the art of artificial incubation of chicken eggs, freeing hens to lay more eggs.
Interestingly, it is believed chickens were first domesticated for the purpose of cockfighting in stead of eating! Until the large-scale meat and egg production of the 20th century, chickens have always been of use to humans, but have not, like the ox and the horse, significantly influenced human history.
Chickens and chicken eggs among other food on an ancient Egyptian mural
The current domestic chicken was domesticated from the Red Junglefowl, a tropical bird of the pheasant family and still scientifically belongs to the same species (Gallus gallus). The Red Jungle fowl itself can still be found in the wild in Eastern Asia. Three other closely related junglefowl species have most likely also contributed to our modern domestic chicken.
The exact date and place of the domestication of the chicken remains a puzzle, but it is believed to have occurred about 8000 years ago somewhere in Asia. Genetic studies point to multiple domestication events. The earliest archaeological evidence of domesticated chickens is found in China in the 6th millennium BC in a relatively widespread area. On Mesopotamian clay tablets of 2000 BC, mentions of chickens are found. In Egypt around this time, depictions of the birds adorned royal tombs. The ancient Egyptians also first mastered the art of artificial incubation of chicken eggs, freeing hens to lay more eggs.
Interestingly, it is believed chickens were first domesticated for the purpose of cockfighting in stead of eating! Until the large-scale meat and egg production of the 20th century, chickens have always been of use to humans, but have not, like the ox and the horse, significantly influenced human history.
Chickens and chicken eggs among other food on an ancient Egyptian mural
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Date: 2013-04-07 01:54 am (UTC)Your LBD icon is really cute. Question: who made the one you were using of them before - the one with Lizzie and Darcy on different coloured backgrounds, with their snarky comments about each other over their heads? (If you can understand that description at all!)
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Date: 2013-04-08 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-04-13 05:41 am (UTC)