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,