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Link to original content: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25192436
Archaeological evidence for peach (Prunus persica) cultivation and domestication in China - PubMed Skip to main page content
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. 2014 Sep 5;9(9):e106595.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0106595. eCollection 2014.

Archaeological evidence for peach (Prunus persica) cultivation and domestication in China

Yunfei Zheng  1 , Gary W Crawford  2 , Xugao Chen  1
Affiliations

Archaeological evidence for peach (Prunus persica) cultivation and domestication in China

Yunfei Zheng et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The cultivated/domesticated peach (Prunus persica var. persica; Rosaceae, subgenus Amygdalus; synonym: Amygdalus persica) originated in China, but its wild ancestor, as well as where, when, and under what circumstances the peach was domesticated, is poorly known. Five populations of archaeological peach stones recovered from Zhejiang Province, China, document peach use and evolution beginning ca. 8000 BP. The majority of the archaeological sites from which the earliest peach stones have been recovered are from the Yangzi River valley, indicating that this is where early selection for favorable peach varieties likely took place. Furthermore, peach stone morphology through time is consistent with the hypothesis that an unknown wild P. persica was the ancestor of the cultivated peach. The oldest archaeological peach stones are from the Kuahuqiao (8000-7000 BP) and Tianluoshan (7000-6500 BP) sites and both stone samples segregate into two size groups, suggesting early selection of preferred types. The first peach stones in China most similar to modern cultivated forms are from the Liangzhu culture (ca. 5300 to 4300 BP), where the peach stones are significantly larger and more compressed than earlier stones. Similar peach stones are reported from Japan much earlier (6700-6400 BP). This large, compressed-stone peach was introduced to Japan and indicates a yet unidentified source population in China that was similar to the Liangzhu culture peach. This study proposes that the lower Yangzi River valley is a region, if not the region, of early peach selection and domestication and that the process began at least 7500 years ago.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: Gary Crawford is a member of the PLOS ONE Editorial Board. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE Editorial policies and criteria.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Location of the Kuahuqiao, Tianluoshan, Maoshan, Bianjiashan, and Qianshanyang sites.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Archaeological remains of peaches.
1, 2, 3, Qianshanyang site; 4, 5, 6, Maoshan site; 7–12, Kuahuqiao illustrating two variants of peach stones, one with short grooves and small pits and the other with prominent grooves and pits. L = length, W = width and Ds = suture diameter.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Stones of wild and domesticated peaches.
1. P. persica (feral type); 2. P. davidiana var. potaninii; 3. P. davidiana var. davidiana; 4. P. kansuensis; 5. P. persica (domesticated type); 6. P. ferganensis (domesticated type from Xinjiang); 7. P. mira.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Correlation of stone and fruit sizes in modern peach cultivars.
The data are from http://www.ziyuanpu.net.cn/Resource/34/search.html and the feral peaches growing in Zhejiang, China.
Figure 5
Figure 5. AMS dates on Prunus stones.
All are P. persica except for D-3381 that is P. sp., a plum/cherry. Conventional dates were calibrated using Calib 6.0 using the Intcal 09 curve (1, 2).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Box plots of peach stone size (L×W×Ds) and ratios of L, W, and Ds.
The plots illustrate an overall trend to the ratios diverging from 1∶1 through time and of approximate stone volume increasing through time. The top, bottom and line through the middle of the box correspond to the 75th percentile (top quartile), 25th percentile (bottom quartile) and 50th percentile (median) respectively. The whiskers on the bottom extend from the 10th percentile (bottom decile) and top 90th percentile (top decile). Means are joined. The circles are a graphic representation of Student's t-test results. The concentric circles indicate that the means are not significantly different. The Liangzhu culture plot is a combination of the Maoshan (n = 99) and Bianjiashan (n = 23) measurements.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Contour map of scatterplot of Ikiriki, Kuahuqiao, Tianluoshan and Liangzhu Culture (Maoshan and Bianjiashan sites combined) peach stone measurements.
The colors emphasize the highest three contours (the peaks) of each scatterplot. The dashed lines indicate the peaks for the smaller (S) and larger (L) stones. 1. Reimer PJ, et al. (2011) IntCal09 and Marine09 Radiocarbon Age Calibration Curves, 0–50,000 Years cal BP. 2. Stuiver M & Reimer PJ (1993) Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 (super 14) C age calibration program.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Grants and funding

The Chinese portion of the research was supported by the China State Administration of Cultural Heritage. http://www.china.org.cn/government/2007-02/08/content_1130413.htm. A Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Institutional Grant provided funding for the AMS dates. http://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/home-accueil-eng.aspx. No specific grant number is attached to this. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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