Over this two-year project, the ER investigated the contextual, spatial and temporal distribution of turkey husbandry in Europe, reconstructed demographic profiles through sex and age identification, characterised turkey diet using stable isotopes and documented their geographical origin through a genomic approach.
After collecting the archaeological bone samples to be used in subsequent analyses, the ER performed linear measurements and initiated a systematic 3D-photogrametric recording of turkey femurs to explore morphological variations. She also created a ZooMS database of known birds to be used in the collagen fingerprinting identification and analysed the stable isotopic composition of the collagen to provide insight in ancient poultry foddering (+100 samples across Europe, ranging from the end of the 15th century to the 19th century).
The ER extracted the DNA from +100 archaeological turkeys from America and Europe, performed simplex PCR for a first assessment of mitochondrial haplotype attribution and sex identification, and built libraries that were shotgun sequenced. She ran the bioinformatics analysis of the resulting data to produce phylogenies on the mitochondrial genomes and resolve the origin of European turkeys.
Bringing together the expertise of archaeozoologists from multiple countries in Europe and North America, TURKEY refined the analysis of turkeys in archaeological sites of post-medieval Europe. She organized a workshop held in York (United Kingdom) in June 2018 entitled “Exploring the transatlantic history of the turkey through archaeological evidence”. This workshop allowed the ER and the different collaborators of the project to discuss the question of turkey identification, cultural association, and the evolution of husbandry practices.
The outcome of the project was disseminated through scientific communication in international conferences: the International Council for Archaeozoology – Bird working group (2018), the International Council for Archaeozoology – General meeting (2018), the Society for American Archaeology – Annual conference (2018, 2019).
The ER also engaged with a broader audience by participating in various interviews about the history of turkey domestication, particularly around Christmas. She gave interviews to different media (National Public Radio, American Archaeology Magazine) and was invited in the radio programme Les Années Lumières of Radio Canada (
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/les-annees-lumiere/episodes/423042/audio-fil-du-dimanche-23-decembre-2018(si apre in una nuova finestra)).
Alongside her work on turkey management and introduction to Europe, the ER continued the dissemination of her research on Mesoamerican archaeology, a key region for turkey domestication. In particular, she participated in the elaboration of an exhibition at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City entitled “La ciudad perdida. Raices de los soberanos tarascos” and authored a paper in the book of the same name (2018, edited by G. Pereira and E. Padilla), promoting the studies of animal management and symbolism in Western Mexico. She also co-authored a paper on the history and genetic legacy of ancient hairless dogs in Mexico (Manin et al. 2018, Journal of Archaeological Science 98: 128-136).
