Which Is The First One To Come? Egg Or Chicken?

The age-old question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Let’s dive into what the research reveals.

The age-old question—”Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”—has intrigued people for generations. Thanks to the fascinating field of evolutionary biology, science provides a compelling answer: the egg.

The debate delves into the intriguing relationship between cause and effect, yet when we consider it from an evolutionary perspective, the answer becomes much clearer. Long before chickens roamed the earth, eggs existed as the simplest form of female reproductive cells. It was around 325 million years ago that a significant breakthrough occurred with the emergence of hard-shelled amniotic eggs, as noted by the Biodiversity Centre at the University of Texas at Austin. The advent of these eggs marked a significant turning point for vertebrates, enabling them to break free from the constraints of water-based reproduction and thrive on land.

Chickens and their feathered relatives, the birds, came onto the scene much later in the grand timeline of evolution. It is believed that true birds made their debut in the fossil record around 150 million years ago, during the fascinating Jurassic period. Long before the era of chickens, dinosaurs and various land-dwelling vertebrates were already laying eggs that featured hardened shells.

Yet, when we turn our attention to the “chicken egg,” the situation becomes a bit more intricate. Chickens, known scientifically as Gallus gallus domesticus, are thought to have originated from a subspecies of red jungle fowl, Gallus gallus, around 50 million years ago. It’s fascinating to think about how these birds have transformed over such a long period! Domestication kicked off in Southeast Asia sometime between 1650 B.C. and 1250 B.C., marked by selective breeding and notable genetic changes. At a certain moment in time, a proto-chicken laid an egg that housed a genetically unique embryo, signalling the arrival of the very first true chicken.

In a fascinating twist of evolution, the egg, in its broader sense, has been around for millions of years before the chicken even came into the picture. Interestingly, the concept of the “chicken egg,” which refers to an egg laid by a chicken, actually emerged after the very first chicken came into existence.