The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon

Zarrillo Sonia, Gaikwad Nilesh, Lanaud Claire, Powis Terry, Viot Christopher, Lesur Isabelle, Fouet Olivier, Argout Xavier, Guichoux Erwan, Salin Franck, Loor Solorzano Rey Gaston, Bouchez Olivier, Vignes Hélène, Severts Patrick, Hurtado Julio, Yepez Alexandra, Grivetti Louis, Blake Michael, Valdez Francisco. 2018. The use and domestication of Theobroma cacao during the mid-Holocene in the upper Amazon. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2 : 1879-1888.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0697-x

Article de revue ; Article de recherche ; Article de revue à facteur d'impact

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Quartile : Outlier, Sujet : ECOLOGY / Quartile : Outlier, Sujet : EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

Résumé : Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is an important economic crop, yet studies of its domestication history and early uses are limited. Traditionally, cacao is thought to have been first domesticated in Mesoamerica. However, genomic research shows that T. cacao's greatest diversity is in the upper Amazon region of northwest South America, pointing to this region as its centre of origin. Here, we report cacao use identified by three independent lines of archaeological evidence—cacao starch grains, absorbed theobromine residues and ancient DNA—dating from approximately 5,300 years ago recovered from the Santa Ana-La Florida (SALF) site in southeast Ecuador. To our knowledge, these findings constitute the earliest evidence of T. cacao use in the Americas and the first unequivocal archaeological example of its pre-Columbian use in South America. They also reveal the upper Amazon region as the oldest centre of cacao domestication yet identified.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : Theobroma cacao, domestication des plantes, histoire naturelle

Mots-clés libres : Theobroma cacao, Domestication, Ancient DNA, Mid-holocene, Theobromine, Starch grain

Classification Agris : F70 - Taxonomie végétale et phytogéographie
F40 - Écologie végétale
P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières

Champ stratégique Cirad : Axe 1 (2014-2018) - Agriculture écologiquement intensive

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