Turkeys were domesticated for worship

London: Turkeys were not only prized for their meat but also for their cultural significance in rituals and sacrifices, according to a study which uncovered the origins of the earliest domestic turkeys in ancient Mexico.

Researchers, including those from the University of York in the UK and the Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico, studied the remains of 55 turkeys which lived between 300 BC and 1500 AD. The birds had been discovered in Mesoamerica - an area stretching from central Mexico to Northern Costa Rica within which pre- Columbian societies such as the Mayans and Aztecs flourished. Analysing the ancient DNA of the birds, the researchers were able to confirm that modern European turkeys descended from Mexican ancestors.

The researchers also measured the carbon isotope ratios in the turkey bones to reconstruct their diets.

They found that the turkeys were gobbling crops cultivated by humans such as corn in increasing amounts, particularly in the centuries leading up to Spanish exploration, implying more intensive farming of the birds.

Interestingly, the gradual intensification of turkey farming does not directly correlate to an increase in human population size, a link you would expect to see if turkeys were reared simply as a source of nutrition.

“Turkey bones are rarely found in domestic refuse in Mesoamerica and most of the turkeys we studied had not been eaten - some were found buried in temples and human graves, perhaps as companions for the afterlife,” said Marie Sklodowska from the University of York.

“This fits with what we know about the iconography of the period, where we see turkeys depicted as gods and appearing as symbols in the calendar,” said Sklodowska, lead author of the paper.

Researchers measured carbon isotope ratios in the turkey bones to reconstruct their diets. They found that turkeys were gobbling crops cultivated by humans such as corn in increasing amounts, in the centuries leading up to Spanish exploration