Pigeons and People Have Been Frenemies for Longer Than You Think
A recent study reveals that pigeons have been associated with human settlements since at least 1400 B.C. Archaeological findings in Cyprus suggest that the relationship between pigeons and people may have developed naturally rather than through intentional domestication. This discovery prompts scientists to reconsider the dynamics of how these birds have coexisted with humans throughout history.
- ▪Bones found in Cyprus indicate that pigeons have been present in human settlements for over 3,400 years.
- ▪The study raises questions about whether pigeons were domesticated by humans or if they adapted to human environments on their own.
- ▪The findings suggest a long-standing relationship between pigeons and people that predates modern domestication efforts.
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| Original publisher | NYT — Science |
| Canonical URL | https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/science/humans-pigeons-cyprus.html |
| Publication time | Wed, 20 May 2026 23:01:04 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-20T23:10:03.199Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-20T23:10:04.887Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
| Citation coverage | Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL. |
| Cluster | GFNkrG4C2O4V |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Supported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTPigeons and People Have Been Frenemies for Longer Than You ThinkBones discovered at an archaeological site in Cyprus suggest the birds have been strutting around human settlements since at least 1400 B.C.Listen · 4:16 min Share full article34A new study leads scientists to wonder whether people set out to domesticate pigeons or the process occurred naturally as pigeons “colonized” human environments.Credit...Angelina Katsanis for The New York TimesBy Rachel NuwerMay 20, 2026 window.registerInteractive && window.registerInteractive("100000010805361"); !function(){var…
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