A red jungle fowl, the predecessor of modern chickens, in Thailand. Photograph by Christian Zappel, Westend61/Corbis
by Simon Worrall
For most of us, the word “chicken” spells a cold, clammy slab of plastic-wrapped white meat plucked out of the refrigerated section of our local supermarket. But in the ancient world, and in many cultures today, chickens had deep religious and social significance.
Speaking from his home in North Carolina, Andrew Lawler, author of Why Did the Chicken Cross the World: The Epic Saga of the Bird That Powers Civilization describes how fried chicken has its origins in West Africa, why the Puritans tried to ban the word “cock,” and how the backyard chicken movement is bringing roosters to towns and cities all over America.
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