Washington, June 5 (ANI): Polynesians beat Columbus to the Americas by probably a century or more, arriving sometime in the early 1400s, according to a DNA study of a few ancient chicken bones excavated from a Chilean site.

The bones, which were recently dug up from a site on the central coast of Chile, is possibly the greatest testament of the sailing abilities of the ancient Polynesians, said lead author of the study, Alice Storey of the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

According to the findings, Polynesians not only colonized nearly every island in the South Pacific, making journeys over thousands of miles, but also made the long hop all the way to the Americas.

Polynesians are generally believed to have been the world's best sailors at the time when they colonized the Pacific islands. Their ancestors began these long journeys more than 3,000 years ago. The last of the Pacific islands to be colonized were the Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand, in about AD 1300.

"Being that these are the only pre-Columbian chicken bones that are known, they are very valuable," Storey said.

As part of her study, Storey compared the chicken’s DNA with the DNA of ancient chickens from archaeological sites across Polynesia and Southeast Asia.

Findings revealed that the chicken was from the Polynesian stock, and had genetic mutations not seen in chickens brought to the Americas by the Europeans.

“Since the chickens couldn't have made it across the open Pacific on their own, they must have come along for the ride with Polynesian sailors,” National Geographic quoted Storey as saying.

Carbon dating on the same bone used for DNA testing suggested the bone was buried between AD 1320 and 1410, before Columbus’ arrival.

“The dates of the Chilean chicken bones also roughly fit with when Polynesians would be expected to have reached the Americas, since they probably traveled eastward from Easter Island, which was first settled as late as AD 1200,” Storey added.

According to her, the study may put an end to a raging debate about how chickens were introduced to the New World.

The findings are scheduled for publication in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS). (ANI)