History through the eyes of a chicken - Chris A. Kniesly

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

The annals of Ancient Egyptian king Thutmose III

Anali staroegipatskog kralja Tutmosa III

described a marvelous foreign bird that

opisivali su divnu stranu pticu

“gives birth daily.”

koja se „porađa svakog dana“.

Zoroastrians viewed them as spirits

Zoroastrijanci su ih smatrali duhovima

whose cries told of the cosmic struggle

čiji vapaji govore o kosmičkoj borbi

between darkness and light.

između svetlosti i tame.

Romans brought them on their military campaigns

Rimljani su ih vodili u vojne pohode

to foretell the success of future battles.

da bi im predvidele uspeh predstojećih bitaka.

And today, this bird still occupies an important,

A danas ova ptica i dalje zauzima važno,

though much less honorable position

mada znatno manje časno mesto -

– on our dinner plates.

na našem tanjiru.

The modern chicken is descended primarily from the Red Junglefowl,

Današnja kokoška vodi poreklo prvenstveno od crvene divlje kokoške

and partially from three other closely related species,

i delom od tri druge srodne vrste

all native to India and Southeast Asia.

koje potiču iz Indije i jugoistočne Azije.

The region’s bamboo plants produce

Stabljike bambusa u ovoj oblasti proizvode

massive amounts of fruit

ogromne količine voća

just once every few decades.

samo jednom u nekoliko decenija.

Junglefowls’ ability to lay eggs daily

Sposobnost crvene divlje kokoške da svakog dana polaže jaja

may have evolved to take advantage of these rare feasts,

možda se razvila vremenom da bi se iskoristile te retke gozbe,

increasing their population when food was abundant.

čime bi se populacija povećala kada bi hrane bilo u izobilju.

This was something humans could exploit

To je bilo nešto što su ljudi mogli da neprekidno koriste,

on a consistent basis,

and the birds’ weak flight capabilities

a usled slabih sposobnosti ovih ptica da lete

and limited need for space made them

i ograničene potrebe za prostorom,

bilo ih je lako uhvatiti i čuvati.

easy to capture and contain.

The earliest domesticated chickens,

Prve kokoške koje su pripitomljene,

dating at least back to 7,000 years ago,

pre najmanje 7 000 godina,

weren’t bred for food,

nisu uzgajane radi hrane,

već zbog nečega što se danas smatra manje moralno prihvatljivim.

but for something considered less savory today.

The aggressiveness of breeding males,

Zbog agresivnosti priplodnih mužjaka

armed with natural leg spurs,

naoružanih prirodnim ostrugama na nogama,

made cockfighting a popular entertainment.

borba petlova je postala popularna zabava.

By the second millennium BCE,

Do drugog milenijuma pre nove ere,

chickens had spread from the Indus Valley to China

kokoške su se proširile iz doline Inda u Kinu i Srednji Istok

and the Middle East to occupy royal menageries

da bi zauzele kraljevske menažerije

and to be used in religious rituals.

i da bi se koristile u religijskim ritualima.

But it was in Egypt

Ali tek u Egiptu

where the next chapter in the bird’s history began.

počinje naredno poglavlje u istoriji ove ptice.

When a hen naturally incubates eggs,

Kada kokoška prirodno izlegne jaja,

she will stop laying new ones

prestaće da leže nova

and sit on a “clutch” of 6 or more eggs for 21 days.

i sedeće 21 dan na leglu od šest ili više jaja.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BCE,

Do sredine prvog milenijuma pre nove ere,

the Egyptians had learned

Egipćani su naučili

to artificially incubate chicken eggs

da veštački inkubiraju kokošja jaja

by placing them in baskets over hot ashes.

tako što bi ih stavili u korpe iznad vrelog pepela.

That freed up hens to continue laying daily,

To je oslobodilo kokoške tako da su mogle da nastave sa svakodnevnim izleganjem,

and what had been a royal delicacy

i ono što je bilo kraljevska poslastica

or religious offering

ili prineti dar u religiji

became a common meal.

postalo je običan obrok.

Around the same time as Egyptians were incubating eggs,

Otprilike u isto vreme kada su Egipćani inkubirali jaja,

Phoenician merchants introduced chickens to Europe,

feničanski trgovci su doveli kokoške u Evropu,

where they quickly became an essential part

gde su ubrzo postale važan deo

of European livestock.

evropskog inventara životinja.

However, for a long time,

Međutim, dugo vremena

the chicken’s revered status continued to exist

poštovani status kokošaka je nastavio da postoji

alongside its culinary one.

uporedo sa kulinarskim.

The Ancient Greeks used fighting roosters

Stari Grci su koristili borbene petlove

as inspirational examples for young soldiers.

kao inspirativne primere za mlade vojnike.

The Romans consulted chickens as oracles.

Rimljani su konsultovali kokoške radi proročanstava.

And as late as the 7th Century,

A tek u sedmom veku,

the chicken was considered a symbol for Christianity.

kokoška je smatrana simbolom hrišćanstva.

Over the next few centuries,

Narednih nekoliko vekova,

chickens accompanied humans wherever they went,

kokoške su sledile ljude gde god da su išli,

spreading throughout the world through trade,

širile se svetom kroz trgovinu,

conquest,

and colonization.

osvajanja

i kolonizaciju.

After the Opium Wars,

Nakon Opijumskih ratova,

Chinese breeds were brought to England

kineske rase su donete u Englesku

and crossed with local chickens.

i ukrštane sa lokalnim kokoškama.

This gave rise to a phenomenon called

To je dovelo do pojave zvane

“Hen Fever”

„kokošja groznica“

ili „fensi“,

or “The Fancy”,

with farmers all over Europe

kada su farmeri širom Evrope

striving to breed new varieties

težili da uzgajaju nove sorte

with particular combinations of traits.

sa naročitim kombinacijama osobina.

Ovaj trend je privukao pažnju

This trend also caught the attention

izvesnog Čarlsa Darvina,

of a certain Charles Darwin, who wondered if

koji se pitao da li se sličan proces selektivnog razvoja dešava u prirodi.

a similar selective breeding process occurred in nature.

Darwin would observe hundreds of chickens

Darvin je posmatrao stotine kokošaka

while finalizing his historic work

dok je završavao svoje istorijsko delo

introducing the theory of Evolution.

kojim je predstavio teoriju evolucije.

But the chicken’s greatest contribution to science

Ali, najveći doprinos kokošaka nauci

was yet to come.

tek je usledio.

In the early 20th century,

Početkom 20. veka,

a trio of British scientists

trio britanskih naučnika

conducted extensive crossbreeding of chickens,

sproveo je veliko ukrštanje kokošaka,

building on Gregor Mendel’s

nadovezujući se na istraživanja

studies of genetic inheritance.

genetskog nasleđivanja Gregora Mendela.

With their high genetic diversity,

Sa svojom velikom genetskom raznolikošću,

many distinct traits,

mnogo različitih osobina

and only 7 months between generations,

i samo sedam meseci razlike između generacija,

chickens were the perfect subject.

kokoške su bile savršeni subjekat.

This work resulted in the famous Punnett Square,

Ovo je imalo za rezultat čuveni Panetov kvadrat,

used to show the genotypes that would result

koji se koristio da pokaže koji bi genotipovi nastali

from breeding a given pairing.

ukrštanjem datog para.

Since then,

Od tada,

numerous breeding initiatives have made chickens

mnoge inicijative ukrštanja učinile su kokoške

bigger and meatier,

većim i mesnatijim

and allowed them to lay more eggs than ever.

i omogućile su im da polažu više jaja nego ikada.

Meanwhile,

Za to vreme,

chicken production has shifted to an industrial, factory-like model,

proizvodnja pilića je prešla na industrijski model sličan fabričkom,

with birds raised in spaces with a footprint

pri čemu su ptice uzgajane u prostorima površine

no larger than a sheet of paper.

ne veće od lista papira.

And while there’s been a shift towards free-range farming

Mada je bilo pomaka ka slobodnom uzgoju

due to animal rights and environmental concerns,

zbog brige o pravima životinja i životnoj sredini,

most of the world’s more than 22 billion chickens today

većina od preko 22 milijarde pilića u svetu danas

are factory farmed.

uzgaja se fabrički.

From gladiators and gifts to the gods,

Od gladijatora i prinošenja darova bogovima

to traveling companions and research subjects,

do saputnika i istraživačkih subjekata,

chickens have played many roles over the centuries.

kokoške su kroz vekove igrale mnogo uloga.

Mada možda nisu nastale pre jajeta, kao u izreci,

And though they may not have come before the proverbial egg,

chickens’ fascinating history tells us a great deal about our own.

fascinantna istorija kokošaka nam mnogo toga govori i o našoj istoriji.