9th
December 1984
Dear
Mr Plant,
Many
thanks for both your letters and for your work on the origin of the fowl which
arrived a little while ago. I was delighted to receive it. I have delayed
writing to you, hoping as each month went by, that I would be able to tell you
what I was planning to do. Sadly it has all come to nothing but I think you
will be encouraged to know that there is some interest amongst British
archaeologists in the issue of the origins of the domestic fowl,
As
a result of my own work, and the claim by Professor Zhou that North China was
the first place where the fowl was domesticated, I was interested in pursuing
the topic for a doctoral dissertation. In particular I wanted to make an
analysis of the bones of wild junglefowl and domesticated species collected by
Charles Darwin from China and Southeast Asia which are now stored in the
British Museum at the Ornithological Sub-Department at Tring. Because I have a
husband and two children to look after I could not easily travel abroad to do
my research and it occurred to me that I could do some useful work here in
Cambridge. Dr Colin Harrison, a palaeoornithologist at Tring, and author of
works on British and European fowl, was interested in the larger issue and he
felt this would be a profitable piece of work. Don Brothwell, at the Institute
of Archaeology in London, is also interested in fowl in antiquity and he was
the natural choice of supervisor.
Unfortunately
Geoff Bailey at Cambridge and Professor Colin Renfrew considered it a totally
unsuitable piece of research. Nonetheless, encouraged by my college tutor, I
put in an application to the Department of Archaeology. The application was
turned down by Professor Renfrew and so Don Brothwell then suggested I should
go to London University. This was rather inconvenient for the family and so it
was decided I should apply to the Department of Zoology at Cambridge. In the
meantime I had been awarded a British Academy 2-year major state studentship
to pursue the work. I was in the process of preparing an application to the
Department of Zoology when my husband was recruited by STC Telecommunications
and asked to go to Hong Kong. (We are both Chinese speakers) It seemed to be
in the family’s best interests that he should take the job so we will be
going to the Far East in the New Year. I have had to relinquish the British
Academy award but I hope to continue archaeological research of some sort in
Hong Kong.
When
I next go to London I am planning to see Don Brothwell and show him your book
because he will be the person most interested. Dr Matt Ridley, editor of the World Pheasant Association journal was also interested in the
proposed research and you might find him a good contact. His address is: 10
Clifton Gardens, London W9.
I
enclose a copy of my paper which is to be published next year in the 5th volume
of the IPPA Bulletin, and a more
recent article by R.D. Crawford contained in Ian Mason’s book Domesticated
Animals, (I think) and published this summer. I think you may find it
useful. With best wishes.
Yours
sincerely,