Morphotype broadening of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) from Oxus civilization 4000 BP, Central Asia

The region of Transoxiana underwent an early agricultural-demographic transition leading to the earliest proto-urban centers in Central Asia. The agronomic details of this cultural shift are still poorly studied, especially regarding the role that long-generation perennials, such as grapes, played in the cultivation system. In this paper, we present directly dated remains of grape pips from the early urban centers of Sapalli and Djarkutan, in south Uzbekistan. We also present linear morphometric data, which illustrate a considerable range of variation under cultivation that we divide into four distinct morphotypes according to pip shape. While some of the pips in these two assemblages morphologically fall within the range of wild forms, others more closely resemble modern domesticated populations. Most of the specimens measure along a gradient between the two poles, showing a mixed combination of domesticated and wild features. We also point out that the seeds recovered from the Djarkutan temple were, on average, larger and contained more affinity towards domesticated forms than those from domestic contexts. The potential preference of morphotypes seems to suggest that there were recognized different varieties that local cultivators might aware and possibly propagating asexually.- Dating of archaeobotanical samples. - Morphotyping the archaeological grape pips. - Grape morphological diversity and human selection in Bronze Age Central Asia. - Grape seed morphology and early horticulture. - Conclusions. - Method

Kushan Period rice in the Amu Darya Basin: evidence for prehistoric exchange along the southern Himalaya

The origins and prehistoric spread of rice agriculture between East and West Asia are hot topics in the current archaeological community. In this study, we present the results from a preliminary archaeobotanical study at the Khalchayan site in Uzbekistan, where we recovered the oldest securely dated rice thus far identified in Central Asia. We directly dated the rice grains to 1714-1756 cal yr BP (Kushan period), and morphologically compared them with other contemporaneous cultivated rice remains from China and India. The morphological results showed that the rice remains found at Khalchayan are more similar to cultivated japonica rice from southern China and northwestern India. Integrated archeological and chronological results from the surrounding area show that the rice remains found at Khalchayan likely spread along a southern Himalayan route from southwest China to northern India and finally reached the Amu Darya. The rice remains from Khalchayan are the first directly dated and well-reported rice remains found in Central Asia. By the Islamic period, rice was an important culinary aspect of the culture in Central Asia, but the cultural affinity towards rice only developed over the past two millennia. This study provides new information on the spread of rice agriculture globally, especially in arid-semiarid inland regions.1. Introduction 2. Materials and methods 2.1 Research area 2.2 Experimental method 3. Results 3.1 Dating results 3.2 Macrobotanical remains 3.3 Rice morphology 4. Discussion 4.1 Comparison of rice morphology at the Khalchayan site and others 4.2 The path of the transmission of rice at the Khalchayan site 4.3 Farming and cuisine at Khalchayan 5. Conclusio