Scientists have found bones dating back almost 11,000 years that share similar DNA to modern-day chickens.

Chicken is a staple of many diets around the world, but no one knows for certain how the birds came to be raised.

Scientists from Germany, China and the United Kingdom believe they have found one area where chicken domestication may have begun.

They think that thousands of years ago in northern China locals began domesticating the jungle fowl, which eventually led to the poultry consumed today.

39 bird bones were examined from ancient agricultural sites located in both northern and eastern China.

The bones are believed to be anywhere between 2,300 and 10,500 years old, which was determined through radiocarbon dating.

Previously, chickens were thought to have first been domesticated 4,000 years ago in South Asia.

Scientists compared the bones found in northern China to the DNA sequences of both present day chickens, and ancient ones found in Hawaii, Chile, Spain and Easter Island.

This revealed that all the birds belong to the same genus 'Gallus.'

The findings were published in the journal, "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."

This research doesn't completely prove those chickens were captive. Instead they could merely be the bones of a jungle fowl killed in the wild for dinner.