Papers by Rita Dal Martello
Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological sciences/Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences, Jul 1, 2024
The histories of African crops remain poorly understood despite their contemporary importance. In... more The histories of African crops remain poorly understood despite their contemporary importance. Integration of crops from western, eastern and northern Africa probably first occurred in the Great Lakes Region of eastern Africa; however, little is known about when and how these agricultural systems coalesced. This article presents archaeobotanical analyses from an approximately 9000-year archaeological sequence at Kakapel Rockshelter in western Kenya, comprising the largest and most extensively dated archaeobotanical record from the interior of equatorial eastern Africa. Direct radiocarbon dates on carbonized seeds document the presence of the West African crop cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) approximately 2300 years ago, synchronic with the earliest date for domesticated cattle (Bos taurus). Peas (Pisum sativum L. or Pisum abyssinicum A. Braun) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) from the northeast and eastern African finger millet (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) are incorporated later, by at least 1000 years ago. Combined with ancient DNA evidence from Kakapel and the surrounding region, these data support a scenario in which the use of diverse domesticated species in eastern Africa changed over time rather than arriving and being maintained as a single package. Findings highlight the importance of local heterogeneity in shaping the spread of food production in sub-Saharan Africa
Nature communications, Apr 2, 2024
The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmat... more The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals. The lack of agreement concerning timing and centers of origin is due to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin, brittle bird bones. Here we show that chickens were widely raised across southern Central Asia from the fourth century BC through medieval periods, likely dispersing along the ancient Silk Road. We present archaeological and molecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 different archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens may have been an important part of the overall diet and that chickens may have lost seasonal egg-laying Debate over the origin(s) and spread of domesticated chickens (Gallus gallus spp. domesticus) has intensified in recent years with the introduction of genetic and molecular methods, reigniting old controversies over the enigmatic bird 1-3. Historical sources attest to the prominence of chickens in southern Europe and southwest Asia by the last centuries BC 4. Likewise, art historical depictions of chickens and anthropomorphic rooster-human chimeras are reoccurring motifs in Central Asian prehistoric and historic traditions 5-7. However, when this ritually and economically significant bird spread along the trans-Eurasian exchange routes has remained a mystery. Specialists agree that domestication traits evolved in an insular population of South Asian jungle fowl, likely the red jungle fowl (G. gallus ssp. spadiceus; involving hybrids of subspecies) somewhere across its expansive range from Thailand to India. However, scholars have also presented widely diverging dates and routes of spread, and some of this confusion comes from unclear identifications of birds in ancient art historical depictions 3 and overlap in morphological features of chicken bones with those of certain wild avian species. In addition, brittle hollow bones and eggshells are far less likely to be preserved, recovered, and identified than those of other animals 8. Further blurring the narrative of the early stages of chicken spread is the fact that pheasants (Phasianidae) and ducks (Anatidae) in China and geese (Alopochen aegyptiaca) in Egypt have, at times in the ancient past, been maintained (but not necessarily phenotypically altered) or heavily hunted. These chicken-sized birds can easily be misidentified in zooarchaeological studies. Biomolecular techniques, such as peptide mass fingerprinting and ancient DNA are uniquely poised to overcome these taphonomic and morphological obstacles and to clarify one of the remaining mysteries in the domestication and spread of animals across Eurasia. Many scholars have argued that chickens occupied a symbolic and social domain prior to the Hellenistic period (fourth to second centuries BC), after which point their bones sharply rise in ubiquity and abundance in archaeological assemblages 1. One often-propagated claim is that the chicken served an entertainment role in cock fights
PloS one, Mar 28, 2024
The Zarafshan River runs from the mountains of Tajikistan and terminates in the sands of the Kyzy... more The Zarafshan River runs from the mountains of Tajikistan and terminates in the sands of the Kyzyl-Kum Desert in Uzbekistan; it served as a communication route and homeland for the Sogdians. The Sogdians are historically depicted as merchants existing from the end of the first millennium BC through the first millennium AD. While recent research has provided the first glimpse into cultivation, commerce, communication, and consumption in the Lower Zarafshan, the agricultural heartland of the Middle Zarafshan Basin has remained unstudied. This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical investigations conducted at five ancient urban sites/areas spanning the fifth to the twelfth centuries AD: Kainar (Penjikent citadel), Penjikent (shahristan), Sanjar-Shah, Kuk-Tosh (pre-Mongol Penjikent), and Afrasiab. Collectively, these data show that cereals, legumes, oil/fiber crops, fruits, and nuts were cultivated on the fertile Zarafshan floodplains. In this paper, we discuss evidence for the diversification of the agricultural assemblage over time, including the introduction of new staple crops and fruits into an already complex cultivation system. In addition, we contrast our data with previously published results from sites along the course of the Zarafshan to determine whether there is a dietary difference between pre-and post-Islamic conquest periods at settlements located along the river.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Nov 29, 2023
Cannabis grains are frequently reported from archaeological sites in Asia, and hypothesized cente... more Cannabis grains are frequently reported from archaeological sites in Asia, and hypothesized centers of origins are China and Central Asia. Chinese early cannabis remains are often interpreted as evidence of hemp fabric production, in line with early textual evidence describing ritualistic hemp cloth use and hemp cultivation as a grain crop. Modern measurements on cannabis varieties show distinct sizes between fibre or oil/fibre and psychoactive varieties, the former having larger seeds on average than the latter. This paper reviews the current macro-botanical evidence for cannabis across East, Central and South Asia and builds a comparative framework based on modern cannabis seed measurements to help identify cannabis use in the past, through the metric analysis of archaeologically preserved seeds. Over 800 grains of cannabis were retrieved from the 2008 excavation of Haimenkou, Yunnan, Southwest China, dating to between 1650 and 400 bc. These are compared with other known archaeological cannabis and interpreted through the metric framework. This offers a basis for exploration of the seed morphometrics potential to infer cannabis cultivation and diversification in uses. At Haimenkou, cannabis seeds size mostly plot in the range of overlapping psychoactive/fibre types; we therefore suggest that the cannabis assemblage from Haimenkou is indicative of a crop beginning to undergo evolution from its early domesticated form towards a diversified crop specialized for alternative uses, including larger oilseed/fibre adapted varieties.
Nature Communications, 2024
The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmat... more The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals. The lack of agreement concerning timing and centers of origin is due to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin, brittle bird bones. Here we show that chickens were widely raised across southern Central Asia from the fourth century BC through medieval periods, likely dispersing along the ancient Silk Road. We present archaeological and molecular evidence for the raising of chickens for egg production, based on material from 12 different archaeological sites spanning a millennium and a half. These eggshells were recovered in high abundance at all of these sites, suggesting that chickens may have been an important part of the overall diet and that chickens may have lost seasonal egg-laying
PLOS ONE, 2024
The Zarafshan River runs from the mountains of Tajikistan and terminates in the sands of the Kyzy... more The Zarafshan River runs from the mountains of Tajikistan and terminates in the sands of the Kyzyl-Kum Desert in Uzbekistan; it served as a communication route and homeland for the Sogdians. The Sogdians are historically depicted as merchants existing from the end of the first millennium BC through the first millennium AD. While recent research has provided the first glimpse into cultivation, commerce, communication, and consumption in the Lower Zarafshan, the agricultural heartland of the Middle Zarafshan Basin has remained unstudied. This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical investigations conducted at five ancient urban sites/areas spanning the fifth to the twelfth centuries AD: Kainar (Penjikent citadel), Penjikent (shahristan), Sanjar-Shah, Kuk-Tosh (pre-Mongol Penjikent), and Afrasiab. Collectively, these data show that cereals, legumes, oil/fiber crops, fruits, and nuts were cultivated on the fertile Zarafshan floodplains. In this paper, we discuss evidence for the diversification of the agricultural assemblage over time, including the introduction of new staple crops and fruits into an already complex cultivation system. In addition, we contrast our data with previously published results from sites along the course of the Zarafshan to determine whether there is a dietary difference between pre-and post-Islamic conquest periods at settlements located along the river.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2023
Cannabis grains are frequently reported from archaeological sites in Asia, and hypothesized cente... more Cannabis grains are frequently reported from archaeological sites in Asia, and hypothesized centers of origins are China and Central Asia. Chinese early cannabis remains are often interpreted as evidence of hemp fabric production, in line with early textual evidence describing ritualistic hemp cloth use and hemp cultivation as a grain crop. Modern measurements on cannabis varieties show distinct sizes between fibre or oil/fibre and psychoactive varieties, the former having larger seeds on average than the latter. This paper reviews the current macro-botanical evidence for cannabis across East, Central and South Asia and builds a comparative framework based on modern cannabis seed measurements to help identify cannabis use in the past, through the metric analysis of archaeologically preserved seeds. Over 800 grains of cannabis were retrieved from the 2008 excavation of Haimenkou, Yunnan, Southwest China, dating to between 1650 and 400 bc. These are compared with other known archaeological cannabis and interpreted through the metric framework. This offers a basis for exploration of the seed morphometrics potential to infer cannabis cultivation and diversification in uses. At Haimenkou, cannabis seeds size mostly plot in the range of overlapping psychoactive/fibre types; we therefore suggest that the cannabis assemblage from Haimenkou is indicative of a crop beginning to undergo evolution from its early domesticated form towards a diversified crop specialized for alternative uses, including larger oilseed/fibre adapted varieties.
Agronomy
The Prunus genus contains many of the most economically significant arboreal crops, cultivated gl... more 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...
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences
Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and c... more Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and centralized state formation. Settled agricultural villages are present in the province since at least the third millennium BC, and by the first millennium BC, the Dian Culture, a highly specialized bronze polity, flourished in the Dian Basin and surrounding area, until it was conquered by the Han in 109 BC. The increased deployment of flotation at recent archaeological excavations in Yunnan allowed the reconstruction of agricultural practices from the Neolithic to the early Bronze Age, documented at Baiyangcun, Haimenkou, and Xueshan among others. However, archaeobotanical evidence relating to the pivotal period right before and after the Han conquest have so far been lacking, with only limited written records about agricultural production in the Shiji by Sima Qian. Here we present for the first time direct archaeobotanical evidence relating to this transitional period as revealed by rich...
Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and c... more Dian Basin in Yunnan province is an important center for both early agricultural production and centralized state formation. Settled agricultural villages are present in the province since at least the third millennium BC, and by the first millennium BC, the Dian Culture, a highly specialized bronze polity, flourished in the Dian Basin and surrounding area, until it was conquered by the Han in 109 BC. The increased deployment of flotation at recent archaeological excavations in Yunnan allowed the reconstruction of agricultural practices from the Neolithic to the early Bronze Age, documented at Baiyangcun, Haimenkou, and Xueshan among others. However, archaeobotanical evidence relating to the pivotal period right before and after the Han conquest have so far been lacking, with only limited written records about agricultural production in the Shiji by Sima Qian. Here we present for the first time direct archaeobotanical evidence relating to this transitional period as revealed by rich Han period deposits found during the 2016 excavation of Hebosuo, the largest Dian settlement investigated in Yunnan so far, dated by direct AMS on charred cereal grains and artefactual evidence as spanning from between 850 BC–220 AD. Following the Han conquest, the main components of the agricultural system did not undergo radical changes, but the weedy flora indicates a heavier reliance of wet-land rice systems, evidencing a higher level of water management or even irrigation practices, and the consequent intensification of the agricultural production. These findings on shifting agricultural regimes in Yunnan also contribute to current debates about the interplay between intensification, food risk, and ecology in times of political instability.
Agronomy, 2023
The Prunus genus contains many of the most economically significant arboreal crops, cultivated gl... more The Prunus genus contains many of the most economically significant arboreal crops, cultivated globally, today. Despite the economic significance of these domesticated species, the precultivation 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.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Southern Central Asia witnessed widespread expansion in urbanism and exchange, between roughly 22... more Southern Central Asia witnessed widespread expansion in urbanism and exchange, between roughly 2200 and 1500 B.C., fostering a new cultural florescence, sometimes referred to as the Greater Khorasan Civilization. Decades of detailed archeological investigation have focused on the development of urban settlements, political systems, and inter-regional exchange within and across the broader region, but little is known about the agricultural systems that supported these cultural changes. In this paper, we present the archaeobotanical results of material recovered from Togolok 1, a proto-urban settlement along the Murghab River alluvial fan located in southeastern Turkmenistan. This macrobotanical assemblage dates to the late 3rd - early 2nd millennia B.C., a time associated with important cultural transformations in southern Central Asia. We demonstrate that people at the site were cultivating and consuming a diverse range of crops including, barley, wheat, legumes, grapes, and possibl...
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2022
Southern Central Asia witnessed widespread expansion in urbanism and exchange, between roughly 22... more Southern Central Asia witnessed widespread expansion in urbanism and exchange, between roughly 2200 and 1500 B.C., fostering a new cultural florescence, sometimes referred to as the Greater Khorasan Civilization. Decades of detailed archeological investigation have focused on the development of urban settlements, political systems, and inter-regional exchange within and across the broader region, but little is known about the agricultural systems that supported these cultural changes. In this paper, we present the archaeobotanical results of material recovered from Togolok 1, a proto-urban settlement along the Murghab River alluvial fan located in southeastern Turkmenistan. This macrobotanical assemblage dates to the late 3rd - early 2nd millennia B.C., a time associated with important cultural transformations in southern Central Asia. We demonstrate that people at the site were cultivating and consuming a diverse range of crops including, barley, wheat, legumes, grapes, and possibly plums and apples or pears. This, together with the associated material culture and zooarchaeological evidence, suggest a regionally adapted mixed agropastoral economy. The findings at Togolok 1 contribute to the ongoing discussion of dietary choices, human/landscape interactions, and the adaptation of crops to diverse ecosystems in prehistoric Central Asia.
Asian Archaeology
Yunnan’s location at the crossroad of temperate China, Northeast India and tropical mainland Sout... more Yunnan’s location at the crossroad of temperate China, Northeast India and tropical mainland Southeast Asia makes it a pivotal area for the understanding of early cultural contacts and agricultural spread between these ecologically diverse regions. This paper evaluates current evidence relating to the emergence of the first agricultural systems in Yunnan. It also reviews previous theories on agricultural dispersal to Yunnan, including whether Austroasiatic speakers were responsible for the spread of rice from Yunnan to mainland Southeast Asia, and builds a new framework that allows to tie agricultural development in the region into broader patterns of early migration and exchange networks. Archaeobotanical remains attest to an initial spread of rice and millet from Central China into Yunnan in the third millennium B.C. and the establishment of a mixed-crop economy; the introduction of wheat and barley in the second millennium B.C. allowed for increased diversification of the agricul...
Yunnan's location at the crossroad of temperate China, Northeast India and tropical mainland Sout... more Yunnan's location at the crossroad of temperate China, Northeast India and tropical mainland Southeast Asia makes it a pivotal area for the understanding of early cultural contacts and agricultural spread between these ecologically diverse regions. This paper evaluates current evidence relating to the emergence of the first agricultural systems in Yunnan. It also reviews previous theories on agricultural dispersal to Yunnan, including whether Austroasiatic speakers were responsible for the spread of rice from Yunnan to mainland Southeast Asia, and builds a new framework that allows to tie agricultural development in the region into broader patterns of early migration and exchange networks. Archaeobotanical remains attest to an initial spread of rice and millet from Central China into Yunnan in the third millennium B.C. and the establishment of a mixed-crop economy; the introduction of wheat and barley in the second millennium B.C. allowed for increased diversification of the agricultural system, with a two-season intensification trend in the late first millennium B.C. Differences in early rice cultivation ecologies between Yunnan and mainland Southeast Asia suggest that Yunnan rice farmers may not have had a primary role in the southern dispersal of rice, however, more data is needed to fully clarify the source and development of dryland cultivation of rice in mainland Southeast Asia.
Archaeological Research in Asia, 2022
The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmat... more The origins and dispersal of the chicken across the ancient world remains one of the most enigmatic questions regarding Eurasian domesticated animals1,2. The lack of agreement regarding the timing and center of origin is due, in large part, to issues with morphological identifications, a lack of direct dating, and poor preservation of thin bird bones. Historical sources attest to the prominence of chickens in southern Europe and southwest Asia by the last centuries BC3. Likewise, art historical depictions of chickens and anthropomorphic rooster-human chimeras are reoccurring motifs in Central Asian prehistoric and historic traditions4-6. However, when this ritually and economically significant bird spread along the trans-Eurasian exchange routes has remained a mystery. Here we show that chickens were widely raised by people at villages across southern Central Asia from the third century BC through medieval periods for their eggs and likely also meat. In this study, we present archae...
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01346-9
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2021
Historical sources describe irrigation and intensive agriculture being practiced in lowland Yunna... more Historical sources describe irrigation and intensive agriculture being practiced in lowland Yunnan from at least the first century AD, but so far archaeobotanical remains allowing investigation of this issue have been scarce. Here, we present new archaeobotanical evidence, including macro-botanical and phytoliths results, from the Dian settlement site of Dayingzhuang, with direct AMS radiocarbon dates on two wheat grains falling between 750 and 390 BC. We compare these results with contemporary Dian sites and analyse the agricultural systems in Central Yunnan between the eight and fourth centuries BC. We propose that agriculture was intensified toward the end of the Dian through both multiple cropping seasons and increased evidence for irrigated rice fields.
Uploads
Papers by Rita Dal Martello