How did the chicken cross the seas?: 07-08-2008
While some travellers in South America will look to enjoy the world famous Argentine steaks or sample the Peruvian national dish of cuy (guinea pig), others will be content to stick to chicken.
But the history of how the animal arrived on the continent has been subject to years of debate.
Australian scientists are now using genetics to trace how the chicken ended up in Latin America and the answer could re-write the history of the discovery of the Americas.
It is thought that Christopher Columbus brought the animals in the 15th century but some argue that chickens may have been introduced earlier, possibly by Polynesians.
Archaeologist Dr Sean Ulm is helping conduct research to increase the understanding of chicken migration and says the ramifications could run deep should the research prove the earlier introduction of the species.
"This is a crucial issue for archaeology, because if chickens were in South America before the Spanish arrived it means people must have brought them there across the breadth of the Pacific Ocean," Dr Ulm said.
"However, to date there has been no conclusive archaeological evidence for the presence of Polynesians in South America, making recent claims for presence of pre-Columbian chickens in South America a key issue."