Agronomic conditions and crop evolution in ancient Near East agriculture

被引：79

作者：

Araus, Jose L. ^{[1
]}

Ferrio, Juan P. ^{[2
]}

Voltas, Jordi ^{[2
]}

Aguilera, Monica ^{[2
]}

Buxo, Ramon ^{[3
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Barcelona, Dept Plant Biol, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain

[2] Univ Lleida, AGROTECNIO Ctr, Dept Crop & Forest Sci, E-25198 Lleida, Spain

[3] Museu Arqueol Catalunya, E-17007 Girona, Spain

来源：

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 2014年 / 5卷

关键词：

CARBON-ISOTOPE DISCRIMINATION; WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN BASIN; LAND-USE; HOLOCENE CLIMATE; STABLE CARBON; CEREAL CROPS; GRAIN WEIGHT; DURUM-WHEAT; SOREQ CAVE; MANAGEMENT;

D O I：

10.1038/ncomms4953

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

070301 [无机化学]; 070403 [天体物理学]; 070507 [自然资源与国土空间规划学]; 090105 [作物生产系统与生态工程];

摘要：

The appearance of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent propelled the development of Western civilization. Here we investigate the evolution of agronomic conditions in this region by reconstructing cereal kernel weight and using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of kernels and charcoal from a set of 11 Upper Mesopotamia archaeological sites, with chronologies spanning from the onset of agriculture to the turn of the era. We show that water availability for crops, inferred from carbon isotope discrimination (Delta C-13), was two-to fourfold higher in the past than at present, with a maximum between 10,000 and 8,000 cal BP. Nitrogen isotope composition (delta N-15) decreased over time, which suggests cultivation occurring under gradually less-fertile soil conditions. Domesticated cereals showed a progressive increase in kernel weight over several millennia following domestication. Our results provide a first comprehensive view of agricultural evolution in the Near East inferred directly from archaeobotanical remains.

引用

页数：9

共 57 条

[1]

Holocene changes in precipitation seasonality in the western Mediterranean Basin: a multi-species approach using δ13C of archaeobotanical remains [J].