Beginnings and early history of date palm garden cultivation in the Middle East

Tengberg, Margareta

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.11.022

Cited by 173 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…It has long been inferred that the date was brought into cultivation in eastern Arabia around the gulf (e.g. Tengberg 2003Tengberg , 2012, supported by the recent identification of wild stands in Oman (GrosBalthazard et al 2017). Recent genetic studies suggest deep divergence in the genomes of date palms from the central and western Sahara, and north Africa (Hazzouri et al 2015), raising the possibility of a second centre of domestication, as yet unsupported archaeologically, or a process of introgressive capture (sensu Larson and Fuller 2014) from now extirpated wild palms in the Sahara, perhaps represented by remnant populations on Djerba and Kerkennah islands of Tunisia (Zehdi-Azouzi et al 2016) and by P. atlantica on Cape Verde Islands (Henderson et al 2006).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Long and attenuated: comparative trends in the domestication of tree fruits

Fuller

2017

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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This paper asks whether we can identify a recurrent domestication syndrome for tree crops (fruits, nuts) and track archaeologically the evolution of domestication of fruits from woody perennials. While archaeobotany has made major contributions to documenting the domestication process in cereals and other annual grains, long-lived perennials have received less comparative attention. Drawing on examples from across Eurasia, comparisons suggest a tendency for the larger domesticated fruits to contain seeds that are proportionally longer, thinner and with more pointed (acute to attenuated) apices. Therefore, although changes in flavour, such as increased sweetness, are not recoverable, seed metrics and shape provide an archaeological basis for tracking domestication episodes in fruits from woody perennials. Where available, metrical data suggest length increases, as well as size diversification over time, with examples drawn from the Jomon of Japan (Castanea crenata), Neolithic China (Prunus persica) and the later Neolithic of the Near East (Olea europaea, Phoenix dactylifera) to estimate rates of change. More limited data allow us to also compare Mesoamerica avocado (Persea americana) and western Pacific Canarium sp. nuts and Spondias sp. fruits. Data from modern Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) are also considered in relation to seed length:width trends in relation to fruit contents (flesh proportion, sugar content). Despite the long generation time in tree fruits, rates of change in their seeds are generally comparable to rates of phenotypic evolution in annual grain crops, suggesting that gradual evolution via unconscious selection played a key role in initial processes of tree domestication, and that this had begun in the later Neolithic once annual crops had been domesticated, in both west and east Asia.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Long and attenuated: comparative trends in the domestication of tree fruits

Fuller

2017

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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“…Phoenix chevalierii (Barbary palm) is an Iberian-Moroccan group of cultivars growing in SE Spain and are well known for their greener leaves as compared with P. dactylifera (Rivera et al 2008 ). Bushy P. reclinata is found in southern Arabia and in Africa south of the Sahara Desert and it most probably hybridizes with P. dactylifera on the southern fringes of date palm cultivation (Tengberg 2012 ). Finally, P. sylvestris , a nonsuckering tall, rain palm not adapted to deserts but to wetter, tropical climates which comes in contact with the cultivated date palm in the Indus Valley, the eastern border of its distribution.…”

Section: The Genus Phoenixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The earliest records of its cultivation date from about 7,000 years ago in Eridu in southern Mesopotamia; however, cultivation probably began thousands of years earlier (Zohary and Hopf 2000 ). The long history of date palm domestication with an unknown origin, and the nature of its culture may have played an important role in the composition of its genome (Tengberg 2012 ). As a vegetatively propagated perennial fruit tree, the date palm is unique in that it is composed of genetically discrete clones representing highly heterozygous cultivars without the benefi ts of a dynamic mutation-recombination system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biodiversity, Genetic Diversity, and Genetic Resources of Date Palm

Jaradat

2015

Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization

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Phoenix dactylifera L. is composed of genetically discrete clones representing thousands of cultivars without the benefi ts of a dynamic mutationrecombination system; its genetic resources are the most important component of biodiversity in its natural habitats; these include modern cultivars, landraces, obsolete cultivars, breeding lines, and related wild species. Cultivated Phoenix is closely related to a variable aggregate of wild and feral palms distributed over a wide desert belt across the Middle East and North Africa. Genetic diversity and genetic structure of the species gene pool complex have been shaped and greatly altered by human and natural selection, clonal propagation, and spatiotemporal exchange of germplasm. The mixed sexual-clonal propagation system acted on the sexual traits, impacted the genetic structure of populations, and may have resulted in the accumulation of domesticated traits in the date palm. Traditional oases continue to play a vital role in the maintenance and enrichment of date palm biodiversity, genetic diversity, and genetic resources through multiple processes and dynamic conservation practices. However, with the advent of modern plantations emphasizing elite cultivars, a better understanding of the intraspecifi c genetic variation of date palm and its distribution in oasis agroecosystems is essential for the conservation and sustainable utilization of its biodiversity and genetic resources. In-depth assessment of the genetic vulnerability of date palm to biotic and abiotic stress requires knowledge of the extent and distribution of its genetic diversity, both of which depend on the species evolution and its unique breeding system, past genetic bottlenecks, and ecological, environmental, and anthropogenic factors.

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“…Tengberg (2012) collected data from several research regions, and indicated that the origin of oasis agriculture likely dates can back to the prehistoric times around the Persian Gulf. Tengberg (2012) also outlined that documented archaeological evidences showed that date palms were cultivated together in the same gardens with other crop species such as fruit trees and vegetables. This description of traditional oasis agriculture (Bustan in the Arabian Peninsula or Nakhlestân in Iran) is inevitably simplistic.…”

Section: Oasis Agrosystems and Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L) Promentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil organic matter amendments in date palm groves of the Middle Eastern and North African region: a mini-review

Mlih

Bol²,

Amelung

et al. 2015

J. Arid Land

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Countries in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region are among the most water-scarce regions in the world, and their dryland soils are usually poor in organic carbon content (<0.5%). In this study, we summarize examples of how people in the few oases of the MENA region overcome environmental challenges by sustainably managing economically important date production. On the basis of the limited studies found in the existing literature, this mini-review focuses on the role of traditional soil organic matter amendments beneath the soil surface as a key tool in land restoration. We conclude that soil organic matter amendments can be very successful in restoring soil water and preventing the soil from salinization.

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Beginnings and early history of date palm garden cultivation in the Middle East

Cited by 173 publications

References 14 publications

Long and attenuated: comparative trends in the domestication of tree fruits

Long and attenuated: comparative trends in the domestication of tree fruits

Biodiversity, Genetic Diversity, and Genetic Resources of Date Palm

Soil organic matter amendments in date palm groves of the Middle Eastern and North African region: a mini-review

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