How the Chicken Conquered the World- page 2 | History |
Smithsonian Chicken reigns in the 21st century. (Tim O’Brien)
How the Chicken Conquered the World  The epic begins 10,000
years ago in an Asian jungle and ends today in kitchens all over
the world  Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe  (Continued from
page 1)  The Egyptians constructed vast incubation complexes
made up of hundreds of “ovens.” Each oven was a large chamber,
which was connected to a series of corridors and vents that
allowed attendants to regulate the heat from fires fueled by
straw and camel dung. The egg attendants kept their methods a
secret from outsiders for centuries.  Around the Mediterranean,
archaeological digs have uncovered chicken bones from about 800
B.C.. Chickens were a delicacy among the Romans, whose culinary
innovations included the omelet and the practice of stuffing
birds for cooking, although their recipes tended more toward
mashed chicken brains than bread crumbs. Farmers began
developing methods to fatten the birds—some