May 17, 2011

The Neolithic founder crops

This is truly invaluable as a resource for the origins of the eight founder crops of the West Eurasian Neolithic. It is also open access, so read or persue the maps at your own pleasure.

Related:


Current Anthropology http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/658367

The Neolithic Southwest Asian Founder Crops
Their Biology and Archaeobotany


Ehud Weiss and Daniel Zohary

This article reviews the available information on the founder grain crops (einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, barley, lentil, pea, chickpea, and flax) that started agriculture in Southwest Asia during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, some 11,000–10,000 years ago. It provides a critical assessment for recognizing domestication traits by focusing on two fields of study: biology and archaeobotany. The data in these fields have increased considerably during the past decade, and new research techniques have added much to our knowledge of progenitor plants and their domesticated derivatives. This article presents the current and accumulated knowledge regarding each plant and illustrates the new picture that emerged on the origin of agriculture.

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