RESUMO

Two issues long debated among Pacific and American prehistorians are (i) whether there was a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Americas and (ii) whether Polynesian contact with South America might be identified archaeologically, through the recovery of remains of unquestionable Polynesian origin. We present a radiocarbon date and an ancient DNA sequence from a single chicken bone recovered from the archaeological site of El Arenal-1, on the Arauco Peninsula, Chile. These results not only provide firm evidence for the pre-Columbian introduction of chickens to the Americas, but strongly suggest that it was a Polynesian introduction.

Assuntos

Arqueologia/métodos , Radioisótopos de Carbono/química , Carbono/análise , DNA/análise , DNA/química , Animais , Sequência de Bases , Galinhas , Chile , DNA Mitocondrial/análise , DNA Mitocondrial/química , Fósseis , Geografia , História Antiga , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Polinésia , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Homologia de Sequência do Ácido Nucleico