A Zooarchaeological and Molecular Assessment of Ancient Chicken Remains from Russia

Abstract

We here conduct ancient DNA analyses on 58 chicken bones from 15 archaeological sites (from the 9th to the 18th century AD) across the Volga region, the Leningrad region, the Pskov region, and the north of the Krasnoyarsk region to investigate genetic diversity of past chicken populations within this geographical area. We find all samples belong to sub-haplogroup E1, ubiquitous throughout the world and dominant in Europe, Africa and the Americas. This supports an introduction of chickens from the west, rather than a direct introduction from East Asia. Our study also demonstrates good endogenous DNA content, confirming species identification and sex of the individuals, thus highlighting the potential of genetic studies on archaeological remains in that region.