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Plant domestication timeline

Plant domestication timeline: Ancient Egyptian agricultural mural

Agricultural scene. fields and estate inspector under Pharaoh Thutmosis IV (18th Dynasty, 16th-14th BCE) in the cemetery of Sheikh Abd al-Qurnah
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Plant domestication timeline – historical development

Plant domestication is an ancient practice that dates back over 10,000 years ago to the Neolithic period when hunter-gatherer societies transitioned to settled agricultural communities. This shift marked a significant turning point in human history as it allowed for the cultivation of crops for sustenance, marking the beginning of the agricultural revolution. The development of plant domestication has had far-reaching effects on human societies, economies, and cultures, shaping the way we live and interact with the natural world.

One of the earliest known examples of plant domestication is the cultivation of wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent, a region in the Middle East that includes modern-day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. These crops were among the first to be domesticated due to their ability to grow well in the region’s fertile soil and temperate climate. The domestication of wheat and barley allowed early farmers to settle in one place and cultivate crops year-round, leading to the development of permanent villages and the establishment of complex social structures.

In addition to wheat and barley, other crops such as peas, lentils, and chickpeas were also domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around the same time. These legumes provided a valuable source of protein and nutrients for early farmers and helped to diversify their diets. The domestication of these crops also played a crucial role in the development of agriculture, as they were used as cover crops to replenish nutrients in the soil and improve its fertility.

As agricultural practices spread to other regions of the world, different crops were domesticated to suit local climates and growing conditions. In Asia, rice, millet, and soybeans were among the first crops to be domesticated, while in the Americas, maize, beans, and squash were cultivated by indigenous cultures such as the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas. These crops provided a reliable source of food for these societies and allowed them to develop advanced civilizations with complex social hierarchies and architectural achievements.

The process of plant domestication involved selecting and breeding plants with desirable traits such as increased yield, resistance to pests and diseases, and adaptability to different growing conditions. Early farmers achieved this by saving seeds from plants with the best characteristics and replanting them in the following growing season. Over time, this selective breeding led to the development of new varieties of crops that were better suited to domestication and cultivation.

The domestication of plants also had a profound impact on the environment, as it led to the clearing of land for agriculture and the transformation of natural ecosystems into agricultural landscapes. This transformation resulted in the loss of biodiversity and the depletion of natural resources, threatening the long-term sustainability of agricultural systems. The development of sustainable farming practices such as crop rotation, agroforestry, and organic farming has helped to mitigate these environmental impacts and promote the conservation of biodiversity.

Today, plant domestication continues to play a vital role in global food production, with a few major crops such as wheat, rice, and maize accounting for a significant portion of the world’s calorie intake. However, the overreliance on a few staple crops has led to concerns about food security and the need to diversify our agricultural systems to ensure resilience in the face of climate change and other challenges. The development of new crop varieties through breeding and genetic engineering offers potential solutions to these issues and can help to address the growing demand for food in a rapidly changing world.

In conclusion, the development of plant domestication has been a transformative process that has shaped the course of human history and continues to influence the way we interact with the natural world. From the cultivation of wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent to the domestication of rice and maize in Asia and the Americas, plant domestication has enabled societies to thrive and develop civilizations based on agriculture. As we look to the future, it is essential to continue to innovate and adapt our agricultural practices to ensure the sustainability of our food systems and the well-being of future generations.(AI)

Plant domestication timeline: AI generated image
Plant domestication timeline
AI generated image

Plant domestication timeline

BCE

9400-9200 Fig – Near East – The edible fig was one of the first plants to be domesticated by humans. Sterile (cultivated) figs have been found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I in the Jordan Valley dating to about 9400–9200 BCE, thus pre-dating the domestication of wheat, barley, and legumes by about 1000 years. Figs were widely grown in Ancient Greece. Theophrastus observed that Greek farmers tied wild figs to cultivated trees to produce the fruit. Also grown by the Romans Cato the Elder lists several varieties (cultivars) in his De Agri Cultura, (c. 160 BCE, ch. 8) based on provenance: the Mariscan, African, Herculanean, Saguntine, and the black Tellanian. From the 15th century on it was grown in Northern Europe and the New World, the first record in the UK appearing to be in the 16th century (Cardinal Reginald Pole, Lambeth Palace, London)
8500 Barley – Near East – Wild Barley (H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum) ranges from North Africa and Crete in the west, to Tibet in the east.[8] The earliest evidence of wild barley in an archaeological context comes from the Epipaleolithic at Ohalo II at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. The remains were dated to about 8500 BC.[8] Cultivated The earliest domesticated barley occurs at Aceramic Neolithic sites, in the Near East such as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B layers of Tell Abu Hureyra, in Syria. Barley was one of the first domesticated grains in the Near East,[13] near the same time as einkorn and emmer wheat.[14] Barley has been grown in the Korean Peninsula since the Early Mumun Pottery Period (c. 1500–850 BC) along with other crops such as millet, wheat, and legumes.[15]
8500 Einkorn wheat – Near East – An early dwarf Cultigen of wild wheat found in archaeological sites of the Fertile Crescent and first domesticated approximately 10,000 years BP, the earliest DNA records traced to Karaca Dağ in SE Turkey. Cultivation spread from here to the Caucasus, the Balkans, and central Europe, favoured over Emmer in cooler climates but in the Middle East its use declined in favor of emmer wheat around 2000 BCE. Cultivated in some regions of N Europe through the Middle Ages up to the early 20th century
8500 Emmer wheat – Near East
8500 Chickpea -Anatolia
8000 Rice – Asia
8000 Potatoes – Andes Mountains
8000 Beans – South America
8000 Squash – (Cucurbita pepo) Central America
8000-6000 Bottle gourdLagenaria siceraria – Indigenous to Old World Africa, reaching East Asia (China, Japan) by 9,000–8,000 BP, widely dispersed in the New World by 8,000 BP from Asian stock. Not so much a food source but grown for the value of its hard-shelled, buoyant fruits used as containers, musical instruments, and fishing floats[1]
7000 Maize – Central America
6000 Broomcorn millet – East Asia
6000 Bread wheat – Near East
6000 Manioc/Cassava – South America
5500 Chenopodium – South America
5000 Avocado – Central America
5000 Cotton – Southwest Asia
5000 Bananas – Island Southeast Asia
5000 Beans – Central America
4000 Chili peppers – South America
4000 Amaranth – Central America
4000 Watermelon -Near East
4000 Olives – Near East
4000 Cotton – Peru
3500 Pomegranate – Iran
3500 Hemp – East Asia
3000 Cotton – Mesoamerica
3000 Coca – South America
3000 Squash (Cucurbita pepo ovifera) – North America
2600 Sunflower – Central America
2500 Rice – India
2500 Sweet Potato – Peru
2500 Pearl millet – Africa
2400 Marsh elder (Iva annua) -North America
2000 Sorghum – Africa
2000 Sunflower – North America
1900 Saffron – Mediterranean
1900 Chenopodium – China
1800 Chenopodium – North America
1600 Chocolate – Mexico
1800 Chenopodium – North America
1500 Coconut – Southeast Asia
1500 Rice – Africa
1000 Tobacco – South America
c. 100 Eggplant – Asia
c. 1300-1400 Vanilla – Central America

First published on the internet – 1 March 2019

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