Scientists have discovered how crested geese were bred in the 17th century

As far back as several centuries ago, people were able to deliberately breed domestic birds to exhibit a striking decorative trait — even if it was associated with skull abnormalities.

The skulls were found at an archaeological site in Flecken-Zehlin in Brandenburg. According to Phys.org, the remains were recovered from a former latrine pit, and the holes in the skulls were found to be signs of a crest – making them the first crested geese to be identified in the archaeological record.

Details

Scientists examined four domestic goose skulls from a 17th-century archaeological site. Defects were visible on the bones: small holes and larger damage to the upper part of the skull.

The researchers examined various possible explanations. The damage did not resemble traces of carcass butchering, animal gnawing, infection, parasites or disease caused by malnutrition. In terms of shape and location, it most closely resembled the defects found in crested ducks.

In such birds, the attractive tuft of feathers on the head may be linked to a developmental peculiarity: soft tissue forms beneath the crest, and the skull bone sometimes fails to fuse properly. As a result, the external feature looks striking, but there may be an anatomical problem underlying it.

How such geese might have been bred

Most likely, people were attracted by the bird’s appearance itself. The crested goose looked unusual and may have been not merely a source of meat, but a living ornament for the courtyard — particularly in wealthy or prestigious circles.

This does not mean that researchers found written instructions on how to breed geese. They drew their conclusion from the bones: if a rare trait, similar to a crest, recurs in several birds from the same site, it means that this type may have been known and maintained by humans.

Put simply: people liked birds with a ‘crest’, and such geese may have been deliberately kept on the farm. But this beauty may have come at a cost to the animals themselves.

Why a crest might have been a problem

A crest in birds is not simply a cap of feathers. In crested ducks, it is linked to a skull defect. In some animals, this may pass without noticeable consequences, whilst in others it may be accompanied by serious problems.

There are fewer such detailed modern studies on crested geese, so it is impossible to say with certainty to what extent these particular birds suffered. However, the similarity of the defects to those seen in crested ducks suggests that this decorative trait may have been linked to harmful changes in the structure of the skull.

This discovery is therefore significant not only for the history of poultry breeding. It demonstrates that, even in the past, people were able to maintain traits in domestic animals that looked attractive but were potentially harmful to their health.

Why this is interesting

Usually, archaeologists find animal bones and draw conclusions about diet: what people ate, which animals they reared, and how they butchered carcasses. Here, the story is different. The goose skulls revealed not only information about cuisine, but also about taste, status and fashion.

In life, such birds may have been prestigious and unusual. After death, their remains ended up amongst ordinary waste. This contrast clearly illustrates attitudes towards domestic animals in the past: they may have been valued as ornaments, but in the end they still became part of the domestic cycle.

Background

Crested domestic birds are known from various species. Chickens exhibited such characteristics as far back as ancient times, whilst crested ducks are well known from modern breeds. However, archaeological evidence for geese is harder to find: bird skulls are fragile, do not preserve well and are easily overlooked during excavations.

The authors of the study emphasise that the sample is small – just four skulls. Therefore, the find does not allow us to fully reconstruct the history of crested geese in Europe. Rather, it suggests that such birds already existed in the 17th century and that archaeologists should examine poultry skulls more closely.

Source

Study: Maaike Groot, Marcus Wandelt — “Cranial defects in remains of 17th-century geese from Brandenburg, Germany”, International Journal of Paleopathology, 2026.