Title |
Earliest Mexican Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Maya Region: Implications for Pre-Hispanic Animal Trade and the Timing of Turkey Domestication
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, August 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0042630 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Erin Kennedy Thornton, Kitty F. Emery, David W. Steadman, Camilla Speller, Ray Matheny, Dongya Yang |
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. |
X Demographics
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 5 | 21% |
Mexico | 2 | 8% |
Spain | 2 | 8% |
Canada | 2 | 8% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 4% |
Germany | 1 | 4% |
Saudi Arabia | 1 | 4% |
El Salvador | 1 | 4% |
Unknown | 9 | 38% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 20 | 83% |
Scientists | 4 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 1% |
France | 1 | 1% |
Canada | 1 | 1% |
Brazil | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 86 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 23 | 26% |
Student > Bachelor | 18 | 20% |
Researcher | 13 | 14% |
Professor | 6 | 7% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 6% |
Other | 12 | 13% |
Unknown | 13 | 14% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Social Sciences | 27 | 30% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 25 | 28% |
Arts and Humanities | 12 | 13% |
Environmental Science | 3 | 3% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 3% |
Other | 3 | 3% |
Unknown | 17 | 19% |