Professor
Roy Crawford
University of Saskatchewan - Saskatoon - Canada
9-4-1985
Dear
Mr Crawford,
Foe
some years I have been doing private research on the origin, evolution,
history and distribution of the Domestic Fowl (Chicken) and recently received
a copy of your work Domestic Fowl
which I believe was contained in Ian Masson’s book Domesticated
Animals published recently.
This
came to me from Mrs Sally Rodwell of Cambridge - England (who I think is now
domiciled in Hong Kong). Mrs Rodwell also sent me a paper of her own entitled China’s earliest farmers: the evidence from Cishan which
will be published this year in the 5th volume
of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory
Association Bulletin (Australian National University).
I
was very interested in your paper and I have obtained myself some of the
papers you referred to in your bibliography. A couple of papers I will obtain.
I
also regularly correspond with Professor Carter who has tendered further
information to me, although he has done very little work on the chicken
subject since his paper on pre-Columbian Chickens in Man
across the sea.
Mrs
Rodwell’s paper brings forth new material wherein she has done an analysis
of Professor Zhou Ben Xiong’s work in excavations at Cishan and other sites
in Northern China only recently.
Chicken
bones in quantity were recovered at these sites the dating of which is around
5000 BC. This will throw a little more light on the origins and early
domestication of the chicken.
I
myself first wrote and published a book entitled The
Pekin Bantam in Australia 187 typescript pages (1982), which did
touch lightly on early history of the Domestic Fowl in general.
Through
my researches in this cause I also collected material which I am using for a
series of books on the Origin
etc etc of the fowl.
I
have (1984) completed and published (30 pages) book 2 of the series entitled Chicken bone recoveries concerning the informations I was able
to find and am now receiving some feedback from this book (which includes Mrs
Rodwell’s paper).
I
had hopped that this would occur for I believe there should be more
information around if only it can be located.
I
find the whole subject quite fascinating (being a breeder of exhibition fowls)
though also frustrating because it entails quite a deal of writing seeking
information but enjoying just the same.
The
difficulties with the chicken bone situation is that there appears very little
further study is done on the bones recovered: This I consider is important as
I firmly believe there were more than one species as Charles Darwin suggested
(Gallus Bankiva ) involved in the evolution of the Domestic Fowl as
we know it today. The differences between the Asiatics (Brahma, Langshan,
Cochin), the Malay and Gallus Bankiva
seem too great for just variation.
If
you would care to have a copy of my Chicken
Bone booklet I would be only too pleased to send you one. It may be
of interest to you and yours Colleagues.
Hoping
to hear from you in the not too distant future.
Sincerely
yours,