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,