Examination of pigeon bones from Late Bronze Age Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus indicates they were already semi-domesticated as early as c. 1400 BCE, pushing back direct evidence for pigeon domestication almost 1000 years and challenging perceptions of the birds as opportunistic urban pests.
Rock doves or common pigeons (Columba livia) have a long history of coexistence with humans, kept as pets, meat and fertiliser and associated with various religious beliefs. However, the origins of their domestication have never been explored in detail.
“We knew that pigeons must have become domesticated somewhere in the Middle East or Eastern Mediterranean, based mostly on the written record from Egypt, but we had no idea when or how”, says the first author of the research, Anderson Carter from the University of Groningen.
To tackle this, researchers studied bird bones from the 1650–1150 BCE harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, using zooarchaeology to identify Columba livia specimens and isotope analysis to examine their diets.
“We already knew that a substantial number of pigeons had been found at Hala Sultan Tekke,” senior author Associate Professor Canan Çakırlar explains. “The site is in the heart of the original distribution area of pigeons in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
The isotope analysis found pigeons at Hala Sultan Tekke had diets that were almost identical to the humans there, suggesting they were either eating food provided by humans, or were living in very close proximity to them.
“Either way, this very likely means that they were domesticated or on their way to being domesticated,” says Dr Çakırlar.
Importantly, the earliest direct evidence for domesticated pigeons had previously come from a site in Hellenistic Greece, dating from c. 323-265 BCE. Therefore, these findings push the origins of pigeon domestication back almost one thousand years.
Furthermore, many of the pigeon bones were burnt and buried together with other burnt animal remains in ritual spaces, suggesting that they may have been eaten in ritual feasts: an important part of Cypriot culture at this time.
Overall, these findings show that, whether they were simply bred for food or had a more symbolic role, pigeons have been an important part of our lives for thousands of years.
The researchers hope that these findings will change the way we think of pigeons and encourage us to appreciate our shared history. Pigeons were not simple urban opportunists, they played a key role in our development as a species and, in Bronze Age Cyprus, were a significant and constant presence in everyday life.
“One of the most exciting aspects was seeing people’s reactions to the research”, Anderson concludes. “People that previously ignored pigeons on the street suddenly realising that this bird actually has a very interesting history. That's the goal ultimately, to change how we interact with and think about this bird, and other animal species, and start realising that their story is also our story.”