Archaeological and Anthropological Unravelling of Chickens using Ancient DNA in Neotropical America

With three chickens for every human being at any given time, poultry production is a key agricultural player, providing an efficient source of protein to billions of people regardless of religion or culture.

Neotropical America contributes over a fifth to global poultry production, yet chickens only arrived on the continent 500-years ago.

Since, they have played a central societal and economic role in local communities and are now well embedded within the continent’s numerous cultures.

Though details surrounding their European and Polynesian introductions and spread throughout Neotropical America remain unclear, these birds have adapted to the continent’s diverse environments including diseases, leading them to display a unique genetic pool of phenotypic, productivity, adaptation and disease-resilient traits.

Yet with an increasing consumer demand, local populations are being crossbred with commercial stock, and a lack of identification, characterisation and conservation of the indigenous gene pool is leading to the erosion and loss of that unique genetic make-up.

Combining archaeology, anthropology, history and ancient population genomics, ARAUCANA aims to document the cultural history of chickens in Neotropical America (such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and the Caribbean), as well as begin mapping the evolution of indigenous traits linked to environmental adaptation, disease resistance and productivity by characterising the past genetic diversity of local chicken populations through time.

It will also attempt to recover ancient (partial) pathogen genomes in order to trace their evolution and spread through time in relation to specific lifeways and environments. This will enrich our understanding of the biomolecular mechanisms and pathogenesis of infectious diseases.

As the first study of its kind, it will shine new light on cultural and biological Neotropical American heritage while also informing on conservation measures, food security and safety