title: The History of African Village Chickens: an Archaeological and Molecular Perspective.
abstract: The history of the introduction and dispersal of village chickens across the African continent is a subject of intense debate and speculation among scholars. Here, we synthesize and summarise the current scientific genetic and nongenetic knowledge in relation to the history of the species on the continent. Sociocultural, linguistic, archaeological and historic data all suggest a complex history for the species in Africa, characterized by multiple maritime and/or terrestrial introductions over time and several dispersal routes towards and within Africa. Molecular genetics information supports these observations and in addition suggests possible Asian centers of origin for African domestic chickens, including South Asia and Island Southeast Asia. However, both sets of data were until now too limited in their geographic scope, both within Africa and in comparison with chickens from Asia, to unravel the history of the species in detail. We anticipate that further continent-wide studies combining archaeological, ancient and/or modern genetic information may shed new insights on the history of the species. These will contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of trading networks and human interactions within Africa and between African and Asian societies, at the root of the development and expansion of African civilizations.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mwacharo
authors.affiliation: International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya ; Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1008, Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bjørnstad
authors.affiliation: International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya ; CAAS-ILRI Joint Laboratory on Livestock and Forage Genetic Resources, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, 100094 China.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya ; Centre for Genetics and Genomics, School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD UK.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hanotte
keywords: Africa; Chicken; Gallus gallus; Migration; Trading routes