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Spatio-temporal distribution of Prunus armeniaca remains from Eurasia and Northern Africa compiled within the database (see Table S1) shown (a) on a topographic map and (b) in an age-longitude plot. Sites mentioned in text and listed chronologically: 205: Kuahuqiao; 172: Jiahu; 413: Tetori-shimizu; 128: Fuxin 12D56; 127: Fuxin 12D16; 72: Burzahom; 376: Semthan; 368: Saqqara; 64: Bosra; 359: Sampula; 27: Aquileia; 120: Ferrara; 103: Cour Carrée of Louvre. Site numbers refer to site ID as labelled in Table S1.
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The Prunus genus contains many of the most economically significant arboreal crops, cultivated globally, today. Despite the economic significance of these domesticated species, the pre-cultivation ranges, processes of domestication, and routes of prehistoric dispersal for all of the economically significant species remain unresolved. Among the Euro...
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Citations
... Prunus persica and Prunus cerasifera potential species for rural revitalization Prunus cerasifera and P. persica are economically essential species worldwide (Dal Martello et al. 2023). In various regions of Nepal, fruits, pickles, vinegar, jam, wine, alcohol, juice, and dried fruits are produced from P. cerasifera and P. persica. ...
Fruit resources represent significant assets for national dietary sustenance and rural economic revitalization. Nepal, possessing ample natural diversity, has abundant fruit resources, notably Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. and Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, distributed from the eastern to western regions of the country. We assessed the ethnobotanical significance and current utilization of these species and proposed a sustainable usage roadmap. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted across 54 districts of Nepal, encompassing data from 775 respondents. P. cerasifera and P. persica were utilized in 8 and 12 major categories, respectively. The total use reports for P. cerasifera were 1441, and P. persica was 1867. The fidelity level was highest (100%) for fruit use for P. persica and 99.4% for P. cerasifera. The generalized linear model (GLM) Poisson showed that P. persica was significantly dependent on age and occupation; however, P. cerasifera was not dependent on these variables. We conclude that to optimize the utilization of P. cerasifera and P. persica, product development initiatives such as juice, wine, and alcohol production should be prioritized. These value-added products can enhance economic benefits while ensuring the sustainable use of these species.
... In Central Asia, the oldest attested term for plum is the Middle Persian word "ālūg" [30], which was later expanded and associated with the oasis city of Bukhara, giving rise to the Pashto term "ālū bukhārā", meaning "plum" [31]. Plums have a long history of domestication, with evidence of their cultivation in Asia, Europe, and North America [32]. ...
... cerasifera) in Germany and Bulgaria [25,34]. While these plums are believed to have originated in Western or Central Asia [27], the exact center of origin for each species remains unresolved [31]. This ambiguity is further compounded by the limited archaeological research conducted in Central Asia [31] (Figure 1). ...
... While these plums are believed to have originated in Western or Central Asia [27], the exact center of origin for each species remains unresolved [31]. This ambiguity is further compounded by the limited archaeological research conducted in Central Asia [31] (Figure 1). ...
In the past, the Silk Road was a vital trade route that spanned Eurasia, connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. The genus Prunus, belonging to the Rosaceae family and encompassing plums, peaches, apricots, cherries, and almonds, thrived as human travel along the Silk Road increased. The majority of fruits within this genus, whether wild or cultivated, are naturally sweet and easily preserved by drying for storage and transport. The interaction along the Silk Road between wild populations and diverse varieties of Prunus fruits led to the development of various hybrids. This article provides a summary of archaeological findings related to prominent Prunus fruits such as peaches, apricots, plums, cherries, and almonds, shedding light on their evolutionary history, genetic diversity, population structure, and historical dynamics crucial for species conservation. The origins of biodiversity may involve factors like migration of pre-adapted lineages, in situ variation, or the persistence of ancestral lineages. Furthermore, climate change is affecting spatial genetic patterns and potentially further threatening rare Prunus species. Evaluating the scope and composition of genetic diversity within germplasm collections is essential for enhancing plant breeding initiatives and preserving genetic resources in this changing context. From a molecular point of view, techniques such as genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes responsible for phenotypic changes in cultivars and germplasm collections should be of great interest in these breeding programs, while genomic estimated breeding values (GEBVs) derived from genome-wide DNA polymorphism information can facilitate the selection of superior genotypes.
... We assume that all other fruits and nuts under cultivation were introduced or locally brought under cultivation in the central part of Central Asia after the 5th century ce and maybe a century later in the Middle Syr-Darya and northern Tian-Shan. The intensification of tree cultivation in the region appears to parallel urban development, a trend that has been suggested for Asia more widely (Dal Martello et al. 2023;Childe 1964;Fuller and Stevens 2019). There was a gradual increase in the ubiquity of nut shells, likely Juglans regia (walnut), Pistacia vera (pistachio) (Mir-Makhamad et al. 2022a), and possibly Prunus dulcis (almond), in early Islamic Central Asia (unpublished). ...
Drawing on archaeobotanical evidence from the central regions of Central Asia, we explore crop diffusion during the first millennium ce. We present a comprehensive summary of archaeobotanical data retrieved from this region dating to this period in order to better understand cultural drivers pushing agricultural intensification and crop diversification. We use these data to evaluate the applicability of Watson’s concept of a Medieval Green Revolution. Despite ecological limits to cultivation of most of Watson’s crops in much of Central Asia, some of these crops, particularly Gossypium arboretum/herbaceum (cotton) and Oryza sativa (rice), are prominent in the region today. In both cases there is now good archaeobotanical evidence showing that they were cultivated prior to the Islamic conquests in Central Asia. Moreover, the occurrence of several crops – Solanum melongena (eggplant), Ficus carica (fig), Morus alba/nigra (mulberry), and two spices – Rhus coriaria (sumac) and Coriandrum sativum (coriander) – have first been observed in phases dated to the 19th century ce. There is reason to believe that elaborate irrigation systems and seasonal rotation cycles were already in place in this region prior to the development of a centralized Arabic and Islamic government and are likely tied to urbanization in the first half of the first millennium ce. We suggest that most of the trappings of Watson’s model were present prior to this, but, as Watson’s thesis is multifaceted their presence alone does not nullify the model. Additionally, the ecological and cultural diversity of Central Asia means that a proper evaluation of Watson’s model requires a regionally specific examination.
Prunus persica (peach), a well-known fruit species belonging to the family Rosaceae, has a long history of human consumption. Its hard and easily preserved fruitstones (endocarps) have often been found at archaeological sites in many parts of the world. However, there are several species within Prunus subg. Prunus sect. Persica with similar stone morphologies. In order to correctly identify the stones of P. persica and related taxa, we first sampled, described and analysed the stone morphological characteristics of all five species in sect. Persica, together with the related taxa P. armeniaca, P. mume and P. salicina. Then detailed fruitstone descriptions and measurements were made together with an illustrated key to the various species, to enable the identification of peaches at species level and to explore and understand the processes of domestication, cultivation and distribution of P. persica and its allies.
The study combines archaeological evidence, written sources, and genetic studies to trace the routes of peach introduction to the Balkans and explore the local cultivation practices and it revisits the discovery of peach remains at the medieval site of Ras in southwest Serbia. Peach (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) came to the Mediterranean from the East around the 6th/4th c. BC, and over the following centuries it spread westwards. In the Roman Empire it was an already well known fruit. One possible route for its introduction to Europe was through the Balkans (“via Balcani”), from the Black Sea region along the Danube River to other areas. However, following the Migration Period and the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the peach tree orchards remained mostly abandoned for the next three centuries. In contrast, the peach trees in the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire remained present despite repeated invasions, and destructive conflicts, which occurred between the 5th–11th/12th centuries. Peaches were generally available on the market and described in written sources. Archaeological evidence of the of peaches in the region can be found at the medieval site Ras in Serbia, where peach fruit stone fragments have been radiocarbon dated to 1021–1158 cal AD. During the 12th century, Ras served as a Byzantine fortress and later became the main defensive stronghold of the newly formed Serbian state from the middle of the 12th century to the fourth decade of the 13th century. Given the peach fruit soft texture and difficulty to transport, it is likely that they were grown locally. The Romans could have introduced peaches into the area during the 4th century. However, the area was abandoned between the 6th–9th centuries and the peach trees could not have survived if unattended. In the Balkans, including present-day Serbia, there is a significant genetic diversity of peach landraces that are grown effectively wild in vineyards (“vineyard peach”) and are ancient in origins. The presence of peach stones at Ras suggests a possible continuity of practices linked to the “via Balcani” route and enduring local cultivation or trade from southern regions since ancient times. Future discoveries of peach stones in the area will enhance our understanding of this historical route. This study provides significant insights into the prolonged existence and local cultivation of peaches in the broader region, emphasizing the interplay between cultural exchange, trade, and agricultural practices over millennia.
The spread of language families is hypothesized to have occurred via agricultural and demographic transitions that drove populations outwards from agricultural centres of origin, “demic diffusion”. However, the geographical origins of language families are often tied to where greatest linguistic diversity is seen. For the Sino-Tibetan language family this creates a conflict, as maximal linguistic diversity lies in North-Eastern India and Nepal, whereas centres of Neolithic crop domestication in the Yellow and Yangtze River Basins have low linguistic diversity today. Therefore either Sino-Tibetan languages originated in North-Eastern India, and spread by means other than demic diffusion; or multiple diffusions of agriculturalists occurred from a once linguistically diverse homeland, in which linguistic diversity was maintained or increased as peoples spread westwards, but was lost in the homeland.
To explore these two hypotheses, using evidence from linguistics, archaeology and genetics, we compiled existing data on Chinese millets, cultivated trees, and agricultural tools (harvesting knives, shouldered spades) alongside data for wheat and barley from Western Eurasia. These elements were explored alongside existing information from genetic studies and for West Asian animal domesticates.
We differentiate a northern cultural and southern demic diffusion for various elements originating in East Asia. In Central Asia a small number of eastern Eurasian elements (millets by 2500 BC, spades by 1st millennium BC) spread west through pre-existing agricultural populations by cultural-diffusion, but significantly did not include language families nor genetic lineages. The southern dispersal driven by demic diffusion of millet farmers carried a more expansive range of eastern cultural elements; millets, spades, hairpins, harvesting knives, house plans, and significantly languages and genetic lineages. We hypothesize a period of demic diffusion beginning c.2500-2000 BC from the southeastern Plateau through Eastern Tibet and the Himalayan foothills, brought peoples, languages and Eastern Eurasian cultural elements eventually to the Kashmir region. We conclude two routes, the Sichuan–Tibet–Kashmir and Yunnan–Assam ones, are the most plausible pathways linking Northern China and Northern India during this period.
Due largely to demographic growth, agricultural populations during the Holocene became increasingly more impactful ecosystem engineers. Multidisciplinary research has revealed a deep history of human–environmental dynamics; however, these pre-modern anthropogenic ecosystem transformations and cultural adaptions are still poorly understood. Here, we synthesis anthracological data to explore the complex array of human–environmental interactions in the regions of the prehistoric Silk Road. Our results suggest that these ancient humans were not passively impacted by environmental change; rather, they culturally adapted to, and in turn altered, arid ecosystems. Underpinned by the establishment of complex agricultural systems on the western Loess Plateau, people may have started to manage chestnut trees, likely through conservation of economically significant species, as early as 4600 BP. Since ca. 3500 BP, with the appearance of high-yielding wheat and barley farming in Xinjiang and the Hexi Corridor, people appear to have been cultivating Prunus and Morus trees. We also argue that people were transporting preferred coniferous woods over long distances to meet the need for fuel and timber. After 2500 BP, people in our study area were making conscious selections between wood types for craft production and were also clearly cultivating a wide range of long-generation perennials, showing a remarkable traditional knowledge tied into the arid environment. At the same time, the data suggest that there was significant deforestation throughout the chronology of occupation, including a rapid decline of slow-growing spruce forests and riparian woodlands across northwestern China. The wood charcoal dataset is publicly available at 10.5281/zenodo.8158277 (Shen et al., 2023).
Abundant and plentiful fruit crops are threatened by the loss of diverse legacy cultivars which are being replaced by a limited set of high-yielding ones. This article delves into the potential of paleogenomics that utilizes ancient DNA analysis to revive lost diversity. By focusing on grapevines, date palms, and tomatoes, recent studies showcase the effectiveness of paleogenomic techniques in identifying and understanding genetic traits crucial for crop resilience, disease resistance, and nutritional value. The approach not only tracks landrace dispersal and introgression but also sheds light on domestication events. In the face of major future environmental challenges, integrating paleogenomics with modern breeding strategies emerges as a promising avenue to significantly bolster fruit crop sustainability.
During the 2022 excavation campaign in the outer settlement of the Brozne Age tell at Toboliu (Bihor County, Romania), an anthropomorphic figurine was discovered in a shallow pit located inside a house. Seven cups were also found in the pit. In this paper, a description of the finds and their context is given, together with possible interpretations. Special emphasis is placed on the way the figurine was modelled. The discussion also includes an overview of Bronze Age anthropomorphic figurines from the wider region.
