The Domestication and Dispersal of Large-Fruiting Prunus spp.: : A Metadata Analysis of Archaeobotanical Material

GND
1315760967
ORCID
0000-0001-8367-1309
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Dal Martello, Rita;
GND
1315768003
ORCID
0000-0001-9863-1190
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
von Baeyer, Madelynn;
GND
173429793
ORCID
0000-0002-9483-9303
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Hudson, Mark;
GND
1315771934
ORCID
0000-0003-2861-5755
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Bjorn, Rasmus G.;
GND
106020987X
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Leipe, Christian;
Affiliation
Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Kahlaische Str. 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
Zach, Barbara;
GND
1283014017
ORCID
0000-0002-1414-0392
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Mir-Makhamad, Basira;
GND
1315791706
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Billings, Traci N.;
ORCID
0000-0003-4934-849X
Affiliation
East Asian Studies Area, Faculty of Philology (Building A), Complutense University of Madrid, Pl. Menéndez Pelayo, s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Muñoz Fernández, Irene M.;
GND
1315802627
ORCID
0000-0002-4964-0055
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Huber, Barbara;
GND
1315804301
ORCID
0000-0002-2332-4302
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Boxleitner, Kseniia;
ORCID
0000-0002-2881-0297
Affiliation
Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 106, Taiwan
Lu, Jou-Chun;
ORCID
0000-0002-0028-781X
Affiliation
Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 106, Taiwan
Chi, Ko-An;
Affiliation
Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560, USA
Liu, Hsiao-Lei;
ORCID
0000-0002-5730-5986
Affiliation
Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560, USA
Kistler, Logan;
GND
1077938012
ORCID
0000-0002-5648-6930
Affiliation
Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena
Spengler, Robert N.

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 European plums, even the taxonomic classification has been heavily debated over the past several decades. In this manuscript, we compile archaeobotanical evidence for the most prominent large-fruiting members of Prunus , including peach, apricot, almonds, sloes, and the main plum types. By mapping out the chronology and geographic distributions of these species, we are able to discuss aspects of their domestication and dispersal more clearly, as well as identify gaps in the data and unanswered questions. We suggest that a clearer understanding of these processes will say a lot about ancient peoples, as the cultivation of delayed return crops is an indicator of a strong concept of land tenure and the specialization of these cultivation strategies seems to be tied to urbanism and reliable markets. Likewise, the evolution of domestication traits in long-generation perennials, especially within Rosaceae, represents awareness of grafting and cloning practices.

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