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Poultry are farmed globally, with chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) being the leading domesticated species. Although domestic chicken bones have been reported from some Early Holocene sites, their origin is controversial and there is no reliable domestic chicken bone older than the Middle Holocene. Here, we studied goose bones from Tianluoshan-a 7,000-y-old rice cultivation village in the lower Yangtze River valley, China-using histological, geochemical, biochemical, and morphological approaches. Histological analysis revealed that one of the bones was derived from a locally bred chick, although no wild goose species breed in southern China. The analysis of oxygen-stable isotope composition supported this observation and further revealed that some of the mature bones were also derived from locally bred individuals. The nitrogen-stable isotope composition showed that locally bred mature birds fed on foods different from those eaten by migrant individuals. Morphological analysis revealed that the locally bred mature birds were homogenous in size, whereas radiocarbon dating clearly demonstrated that the samples from locally bred individuals were similar to 7,000 y old. The histological, geochemical, biochemical, morphological, and contextual evidence suggest that geese at Tianluoshan village were at an early stage of domestication. The goose population appears to have been maintained for several generations without the introduction of individuals from other populations and may have been fed cultivated paddy rice. These findings indicate that goose domestication dates back 7,000 y, making geese the oldest domesticated poultry species in history.

The lower Yangtze River region in China was a centre of early Neolithic rice cultivation and animal domestication. It is also an important habitat for wintering birds; however, our current understanding of prehistoric avifaunal resource utilisation by human populations in this region is limited. To clarify the use of birds by early Neolithic rice-cultivating societies further, we analysed bird remains from one excavation grid at the Tianluoshan site, which dates to between 7000 and 6100 cal BP. Ducks (Anatinae), rails (Rallidae), and geese (Anserinae) were dominant in every layer, suggesting that birds wintering in inland waters were the primary avifaunal taxa exploited at the Tianluoshan site. The taxonomic composition, bone modification rate, and skeletal part representation of these dominant taxa differed between layers. Overall, there was an abundance of duck and goose wing elements and both the wing and leg elements of rails, suggesting that exploitation patterns differed among these primary taxa. There is no evidence of domestic exploitation of ducks and/or chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), but the appearance of immature goose bones may suggest the existence of domestic geese.

The optical properties (Angstrom exponent and depolarization) of aerosols are analyzed to characterize the dust particles at different altitudes of the atmosphere using the backscatter signal from the space borne Lidar (CALIPSO) over Asian region with emphasis on Taiwan and Indian regions. The physical and optical properties of dust particles are found different at wet and dry weather conditions. The size distribution of dust particles at different altitudes is estimated. Finally the correlation between the particle depolarization and the angstrom exponent of dust particles at different altitudes is analyzed and the possible reasons are discussed. Further, the spatial inhomogeneity in the correlation coefficient is noticed and the possible relation with regional weather conditions is discussed.