10 December 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Evidence found of Goose domestication in Neolithic China 7,000 years ago

Geese may have been domesticated in what is now China as early as 7,000 years ago, according to a study of preserved goose bones. Since the time of domestication of chickens is uncertain, this may make them the first bird to be domesticated before chickens.

Masaki Eda and colleagues performed histological, geochemical, biochemical, and morphological analyses on goose bones from a 7,000-year-old rice cultivation village in the Yangtze River valley in China to uncover evidence of early domestication.

In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of goose bones found at Tianluoshan—a dig site in east China.

Researchers found immature goose bones at the study site, the Tianluoshan site. They found 232 goose bones at the site, four of which were from goslings ranging from 8 to 16 weeks old. They suggest this shows the birds were hatched near the site because it is believed that wild geese did not live in that area at the time the birds were alive.

Goose bones found at Tianluoshan, China. Masaki Eda.
Goose bones were found at Tianluoshan, China. Masaki Eda.

Oxygen isotope analysis helped identify bones belonging to nonmigratory, locally bred geese. Biochemical analysis suggested that the diet of local geese differed from migratory geese and may have included cultivated rice.

Morphological analysis suggested that local geese were kept for multiple generations, given that they had a consistent body size compared with wild geese. They also found evidence suggesting that the birds had been locally bred based on chemicals in their bones that likely came from a local water source. And all of the adults were approximately the same size, which indicates captive breeding.

Together, the bones, which were radiocarbon dated to 7150–6670 years ago, exhibited signs of early goose domestication. Based on butchering and manufacturing marks on the bones, the authors suggest that geese were locally bred to meet the demand for meat and bone tool materials when wild, migratory geese were unavailable.

The researchers suggest that the evidence they found provides strong evidence for the domestication of geese in China nearly 7,000 years ago. A finding that could mean that geese were the first birds to be domesticated.

Cover Photo: Modern Chinese domestic geese (Anser cygnoides domesticus). Masaki Eda.

Related Articles

Found in Spain a poem by Virgil engraved in a Roman amphora

22 June 2023

22 June 2023

Archaeologists have deciphered a verse by Virgil, the greatest poet of Rome’s Golden Age, carved into the clay of a...

Remains of 14th-century Synagogue thought to be one of largest in region discovered in Poland

14 August 2023

14 August 2023

The remains of what is thought to be a sizeable 14th-century synagogue complex, including a mikvah, have been discovered during...

Egypt dig unearths 41 mln-year-old Whale in desert -Tutcetus rayanensis-

12 August 2023

12 August 2023

Paleontologists in Egypt announced the discovery of a new species of extinct whale that inhabited the sea covering present-day Egypt...

When the waters receded, the mounds of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy, bearing the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, came to light

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The important cultural areas of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy mounds, which bear the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, represented by kurgans...

Paleontologists Unearth 139 Million-Year-Old Pregnant Dinosaur Fossil in Chile

10 May 2022

10 May 2022

Archeologists in Chile have unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13ft-long pregnant ichthyosaur from a melting glacier -marking the first...

Structures in Turkey’s Panaztepe pointing out a 5,000-year-old settlement found

8 November 2021

8 November 2021

In the 5000-year-old Panaztepe settlement located in the Menemen district of Izmir, structures thought to belong to the oldest period...

In Oman, a 4,000-year-old Early Bronze Age settlement was unearthed

25 January 2022

25 January 2022

A large settlement dating back more than 4,000 years has been discovered in Oman. Archaeological excavations in the Wilayat of Rustaq,...

Archaeologists are deciphering Roman history along Dere Street, one of the oldest roadways in Britain

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Final archaeological finds uncovered as part of a major road improvement in the north of England have shed new insight...

Lovingly gazing mosaics restored in Turkey’s Metropolis

16 October 2021

16 October 2021

In the ancient city of Metropolis in the Torbali district of the western Izmir province, mosaics portraying Eros, the Greek...

Archaeologists discover 1200-year-old Wari temple complex in Peru

24 February 2023

24 February 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Illinois Chicago have uncovered a temple complex constructed by the Wari Empire 1,200 years ago...

6000-Year-Old Salt Production House Rewrites Europe’s History

31 March 2021

31 March 2021

Archaeologists in the UK have found an ancient stone age-era salt-production house in North Yorkshire, estimated to be older even...

2,000-Year-Old Iron Age and Roman Treasures Found in Wales Could Point to an Unknown Roman Settlement

12 May 2023

12 May 2023

A metal detectorist found a pile of exceptionally preserved Roman and Iron Age objects buried 2,000 years ago in a...

1419-year-old Islamic inscription found in Saudi Arabia

13 June 2022

13 June 2022

Saudi Arabia has announced a new archaeological discovery in Makkah. The Islamic inscription found dates back 1419 years to the...

Authorities in New York have been accused by leading academics of repatriating fake Roman artifacts to Lebanon

19 November 2023

19 November 2023

Leading academics from France and the United Kingdom have accused New York authorities of returning fake Roman artifacts to Lebanon....

Ancient gypsum furniture was discovered in a fire temple in the ancient region of Vigol in Iran

1 June 2021

1 June 2021

Sets of gypsum furniture, including a carved table and chairs, were discovered during an archaeological dig in central Iran. According...