Domestication of Pulses in the Old World

Abstract

This article reviews the available information on the place of origin and time of domestication of the cultivated pea (Pisum sativum), lentil (Lens culinaris), broad bean (Vicia faba), bitter vetch (V. ervilia), and chickpea (Cicer arietinum). On the basis of (i) an examination and evaluation of archeological remains and (ii) an identification of the wild progenitors and delimitation of their geographic distribution, it was concluded that pea and lentil should be regarded as founder crops of Old World Neolithic agriculture. Most probably they were domesticated, in the Near East, simultaneously with wheats and barley (certainly not later than the sixth millennium B.C.). Bitter vetch shows a similar mode of origin. The evidence on the broad bean and the chickpea is much more fragmentary and the wild progenitors of these legumes are yet not satisfactorily identified. But also these two pulses emerge as important food elements in Bronze Age cultures of the Near East and Europe.

Estimation of the diet-dependent net acid load in 229 worldwide historically studied hunter-gatherer societies

“…According to these methods, the diet database for calculation of the NEAP for a given P:A energy ratio included 53 food items from among the major groups likely to have been consumed by preagricultural humans: 9 meats (which included 4 wild game meats) and 44 plant foods assigned to 6 groups (roots, nuts, tubers, fruit, leafy green vegetables, and vegetable fruit). Cereal grains and legumes were excluded because of their late (mostly postagricultural) incorporation into the human diet (37,38). For all calculations, unless otherwise specified, the combined energy intake from animal and plant foods was maintained at 12,552 kJ/d (3000 kcal/ d).…”

Draft genome sequence of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) provides a resource for trait improvement

“…Soybean (Glycine max) and its allied species are more distant relations of chickpea. Originating in southeast Turkey and Syria, chickpea was one of the founder crops of modern agriculture 2,3 . There are two main types of chickpeas: small-seeded desi and larger-seeded kabuli.…”

Potential Uses of Wild Germplasms of Grain Legumes for Crop Improvement

“…Grain legumes were planted as companion crops of wheat and barley when agriculture began in the Near East [17,18], while some other important grain legumes have their origins of domestication in Asia and the New World. The domestication of plants was generally associated with centers of cultural diversity along with fascinating relationships between ancient human settlements and particular phytogeographic characteristics.…”