INVESTIGATING TURKEY (MELEAGRIS GALLOPA VO) DOMESTICATION IN THE SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES THROUGH ANCIENT DNA ANALYSIS by Camilla Speller MA, Simon Fraser University 2005 BA, University of Calgary 1999 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of Archaeology © Camilla Speller 2009 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2009 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Camilla Speller Degree: Ph.D Title of Thesis: Investigating Turkey (Me/eagris gallopavo) Domestication in the Southwest United States through Ancient DNA Analysis Examining Committee: Chair: Ross Jamieson Associate Professor, Archaeology Dongya Yang Senior Supervisor Associate Professor, Archaeology Jon Driver Supervisor Professor, Archaeology John Welch Internal Examiner Associate Professor, Archaeology Dennis O'Rourke External Examiner Professor, Anthropology, University of Utah Date Defended/Approved: (j c±ob'W q 2009 ii SI j\H) N H~ AS E HUN IV E HSIT Y THINKING OF THE WORLD DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties as the author may desire. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. No Digital Copy for SFU Library collection: By special permission ofthe Dean of Graduate Studies, the author is exempted from granting permission to Simon Fraser University Library to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website). It is agreed that the author may change this decision at any time, by providing SFU Library with a signed Partial Copyright Licence in standard form. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Partial Copyright Licence_PDF Exemption 2007 ABSTRACT As one of the New World's few animal domesticates, the turkey (Me/eagris gallopavo) represented an important resource for the Ancestral Puebloans of the Southwest United States. Despite the rich database of Southwest archaeology, several questions concerning the domestication and use of turkeys remain unanswered, including the geographic origin of turkey domestication, the pre-contact flock management and breeding practices, and the changing roles of wild and domestic turkeys through time. In order to address these outstanding issues, this study applied ancient DNA analysis to 193 archaeological turkey bones, from 43 archaeological sites ranging in time from AD600 to AD1880. The authenticity of the ancient DNA data was secured through multiple criteria, including: the use of dedicated ancient DNA facilities; the inclusions of blank extracts and peR negative controls; and repeat extractions and amplifications. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the archaeological remains revealed a strong genetic bottleneck within the pre-contact Southwest turkey population, reflective of human selection and breeding. The genetic differences between the Southwest turkeys and modern commercially­ raised turkeys point to two geographically distinct turkey domestication events in North America: one involving M. g. silvestris and/or intermedia with a subsequent trade of domestic stocks into the Southwest proper, and the other involving M. g. gallopavo in south-central Mexico. The broad distribution of a genetically uniform stock throughout the Southwest suggests that turkeys were traded within and between cultural traditions, and that a single lineage of turkey was used for ritual purposes, feather production, and for food. While the archaeological and genetic evidence point to the intensification of domestic turkey husbandry through time, the recovery of M. g. merriami haplotypes in the archaeological remains indicates that some local birds were exploited in conjunction with the imported domestic lineage. In addition to hunted wild birds, the osteological and genetic data point to the incorporation of wild individuals into domestic flocks, and/or hybridization of wild toms and domestic hens. This study, integrating genetic, osteometric and archaeological data offers an exclusive snapshot into the complexities of the domestication process, and the dynamic human­ animal interactions of the past. Keywords: Ancient DNA analysis, Domestication, Me/eagris gallopavo, Ancestral Puebloans iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks go out to my supervisory committee, Dr. Dongya Yang and Dr. Jonathan Driver for providing guidance throughout this research. Special thanks go to my senior supervisor, Dr. Yang, for his exceptional support and mentorship, not only for this project, but throughout my studies at SFU. This study was supported by a Wenner­ Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant (2008), a Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) as well as Yang's grant from the SSHRC. Thanks also to Dr. Dennis O'Rourke of the University of Utah, and to Dr. John Welch for serving on my Examining Committee, and for their helpful comments on my dissertation. I would also like to recognize the assistance of Andrew Barton, Shaw Badenhorst and Tyr Fothergill for their assistance in osteological analysis, and in particular the aid of Dr. Robert Muir in conducting the inter-observer replicability tests. I am also grateful to Ursula Arndt, Krista McGrath, and Sarah Padilla for technical assistance in the SFU ancient DNA laboratory, and for discussion on the DNA results. I would also like to acknowledge the academic support I received from so many of the Department of Archaeology faculty, in particular Drs. Dana Lepofsky, David Burley and Mark Skinner. Thanks also to the SFU Department of Archaeology staff, Merrill Farmer, Chris Papaianni, Laura Nielson, and Shannon Wood for all their patience and cooperation over the last few years. I am indebted to the many individuals who helped me access the archaeological bones samples for analysis. Special thanks go to Dr. R. Garvin, Dr. J. Kelley, Dr. B. Vierra, and Dr. Cathy Cameron who provided turkey bones from their archaeological research projects. My gratitude goes out to all the members of the National Park Service who assisted with the research permits and accessing the archaeological collections. Special thanks to out to Gary Brown of Aztec Ruin; Keith Lyons and Scott Travis of Canyon De Chelly National Monument; Stephen Fettig of Bandelier National Monument; Brian Carey and Carrie Dennett of Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site; Jim Kendrick and Fred Moosman of EI Morro and EI Malpais National Monuments; Steve Riley of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument; Heather Young and Kathy Billings of Pecos National Historical Park; Ellen Brennan, Brian iv Culpepper and James Dryer of Navajo National Monument; Tobin Roop, Derek Toms, and Mariah Robertson of Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument; Duane Hubbard of Tonto National Monument; Jeremy Moss of Tumacacori National Historical Park; as well as to Michele Girard and Larry Ludwig. I would also like to acknowledge Arthur Vokes, Courtney Fischrup, Mark Cattanach, and Mike Jacobs of the Arizona State Museum and Elaine Hughes of the Museum of Northern Arizona for their aid in accessing archaeological turkey bone collections. My thanks also to Jamie Merewether, Robin Lyle and the staff at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, and to Susan Thomas, Tracy Murphy and the other Anasazi Heritage Center staff members for providing many sample for DNA analysis. Finally, I would like thank Kim Beckwith and Stephanie Rodeffer for their aid in accessing the samples from the Western Archeological and Conservation Center. I am especially indebted to Kim Beckwith, who spent many hours organizing the research permits and collections; I am so grateful for her patience and encouragement throughout the project. A warm thank you also to Monty and Adele Clement of Valley Creek Farm, Victoria, BC, who provided many of the modern turkey samples analyzed in this project. My appreciation also goes out to Dr. Brian Kemp, Dr. Bill Lipe, Cara Monroe and Scott Wyatt of Washington