Millions of years later, the next generation will understand that the Earth is dominated by ... chickens

Why? Simply because people are consuming so many fossils that their fossils will be more than any other sign of human civilization.

Fossil evidence is one of the most important signs for us to understand what happened in the past. Thanks to fossils, we know that millions of years ago Earth was dominated by dinosaurs. Also thanks to fossils, we know there are geological events that make the dinosaurs extinct.

If only based on fossils, the next person will see a harsh truth: Earth is dominated by . chickens.

It is also understandable that for the next millions of years, the next generation can also rely on fossils to know about the civilization that people once had. But no! According to a recent study, if only based on fossils, the next person will see a harsh truth: Earth is dominated by . chickens.

Why? Because research from Leicester University (UK) has shown that we are consuming a lot of chicken.

In particular, around 60 billion chickens are put on the disk every year. This number is three times larger than the total number of birds on Earth. But more importantly, chicken bones will be buried in landfills under anaerobic conditions, and thus become extremely favorable to fossils.

And with 22 billion chickens still living, the fossil from chicken bones will be much superior to humans later.

Thigh bone of broiler (left) and old forest chicken (right).

According to Carys Bennett, the author of the study, from the middle of the 20th century up to now, the weight of chickens has increased by 5 times. In Europe, the number of chickens raised in 2009 is larger than the total number of 144 world's most crowded birds. And although the civilized signs of humanity such as oil or plastic garbage are still there, chicken bones will still stand out.

Bennett and his colleagues tried to study the morphology, bone structure, and genetics of current chickens compared to their ancestors. They found that in the Anthropocene world - the human geological position exists - there is a particularly large change in the number of chickens. Chicken genes have also mutated, with twice the frequency in just 50 years.

"Today's industrial chickens will not exist without human intervention. But their total number is much larger than other birds in the world," Bennett said.

"Based on the global distribution of chickens, chickens will become the most obvious sign to describe the future Anthropocene."

It is known that humans tamed and nurtured chickens during the 8000 years ago, from wild chickens in Asia. This animal once covered the whole continent, but was later bred with some other breeds to create the chicken we still buy in the supermarket today.