9th March,
1979
Dear
Mister Plant,
Thank
you for your letter of 4th March, 1979 concerning the origins of the
domestic chicken.
I
regret I cannot answer your specific query regarding which sort of fowl may be
represented by the Watom Island bone. The osteologist who examined it was
unwilling to be positive in his identification. I do not have the bone in
Sydney, so I cannot check for the details you mention.
There
are no animals depicted on the Lapita pottery, though several designs have
been interpreted as anthropomorphs. The main designs are geometric,
non-figurative. Several clay figurines have been found at Lapita sites and at
sites of a similar age but with a different kind of pottery in the Solomon and
New Hebrides Islands. None of these figures can be identified as chicken.
I
hope you do eventually find some clearer information on the history of the
chicken and wish you well in your studies.
Yours
sincerely,
J.R.Specht,
Curator of Anthropology