A Complicated History For the Humble Turkey.

Turkey may be an uncomplicated food, but the history of the bird is far from simple. The commercial breeds that grace the Thanksgiving table trace their roots to southern Mexico, where a wild variety was domesticated 2,000 years ago. Mexican turkeys were transported to Europe in the 1500s, more varieties were developed, and in the 1700s these turkeys made it back across the Atlantic, to the Eastern United States. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]