Exploring the History of Turkey Management and Domestication A Transatlantic Perspective

About this book

The turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is an iconic bird, widely associated with festive dishes in Europe, North America, and Central America, and extensively raised worldwide. Yet, its long-term interactions with human societies remain poorly synthesised, with significant regional imbalances in research. The role of turkeys in North America has been extensively studied, while their post-colonial dispersal and evolving cultural significance globally have received far less attention.

This volume brings together specialists to explore the palaeontology of Meleagris, the early stages of turkey management and domestication in North America, and its subsequent global expansion. Following a chronological structure, the first part examines turkey-human interactions in the Americas before European contact (~500 years ago), with chapters on well-studied regions (Southwestern USA, Northern Mexico, and Mesoamerica) alongside lesser-known areas (Southern Central America and Eastern USA). The second part traces the last 500 years of turkey history, exploring artistic depictions, historical accounts, and archaeozoological evidence from multiple European countries, spanning Western Europe to the Baltic and Central Europe. It also examines the global spread of domestic turkeys, their reintroduction to the Americas through the colonial economy, and their further dispersal across the Pacific.

Blending comprehensive syntheses with original case studies, this volume offers new insights into the history of turkey management, domestication, and cultural symbolism through to the 21st century.

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Biography

Aurélie Manin is a CNRS Researcher in the Archaeology of the Americas laboratory in Paris. She specialises in zooarchaeology and molecular analyses to understand past interactions between humans and their environment, including animal management, food production and consumption, and the transformation of these practices during cultural shifts.

Camilla F. Speller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Her research applies ancient DNA and protein analysis to study a broad range of environmental issues and human-environment interactions in the past and in the present, including a focus on human-animal relationships.

Eduardo Corona-M. is a researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) in Morelos, Mexico, and a member of the National Researchers System of the National Council of Science and Technology (CONAHCYT). He applies zooarchaeology to investigate human-animal interactions, in particular the domestication and management of animals.

Erin Kennedy Thornton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA. She is an environmental archaeologist specialising in zooarchaeology and isotope analysis to investigate past diet, environment, trade, animal use, and domestication in the Americas.