Size of domestic chickens in Medieval Japan, based on chicken remains from the Otomo-Funai site, Oita

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  • 大友府内町跡出土資料からみた中世日本のニワトリの大きさ
  • オオトモ フナイチョウ セキ シュツド シリョウ カラ ミタ チュウセイ ニホン ノ ニワトリ ノ オオキサ

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Abstract

The common chicken, Gallus domesticus, is a poultry whose main ancestor is a subspecies of red junglefowl (G. g. Spadiceus) that inhabits Southeast Asia, and is believed to have been introduced into Japan in the middle of the Yayoi period. While information regarding the variety and size of chickens used in Japan after the Yayoi period has been gleaned from historical evidence, zooarchaeological studies have been limited, and the actual situation is not well understood. At the medieval Otomo-Funai site (Oita City), many chicken bones dated from AD 1570 to 1586, were found, which could provide insight into the size of chickens at that time. In this study, I measured the chicken tarsometatarsi excavated from the site and performed statistical analysis such as U-test and mixture analysis. In addition, the lengths of these bones were compared with those of modern captive red junglefowl and the weight of various chicken races via regression analysis. The results indicated that the chickens exploited in Otomo-Funai were larger than the captive red junglefowl. The mixture analysis estimated that both males and females included individuals derived from two size groups. The two estimated size groups for males and females were larger than the modern Jidori (Japanese native chicken) and Shokoku that were believed to exist in Japan at the end of the Middle Age. This may be because the former Jidori and Shokoku were larger than they are now, and/or foreign chickens were more widespread and crossed with local chickens more extensively than previously inferred from historical evidence.

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