Late Preclassic (300 BC to AD 100) turkeyremains identified at the archaeological site of El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala) are the first and only evidence that the Mayan civilization domesticated turkeys at that time. The natural range of the Mexican turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) does not extend to what is considered the boundary of the Mayan world.

The evidence indicates that the Mayans acquired turkeys through trade with northern Mesoamerican peoples. The nearest verifiable turkey populations at this time were approximately 600 kilometers (660 miles) from the nearest borders of the established Mayan world. This fact is indicative of the breadth of trade the Mayans established.

Male and female turkey fossils were found at the El Mirador site with purposefully clipped wing bones indicating the birds were kept in captivity. This is one of the few existing examples from history that the Mayan people domesticated wild animals as a food source.

DNA evidence, spur morphology, and bone analysis confirmed the discovery time frame to be the earliest known Mayan turkey domestication and demonstrated the alteration of wing structure with the purpose to prevent flight by the Mayan people. Previous archaeological finds had evidence of pens, egg shells, and fossilized neonates that dated from the Classical Period.