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PAGES 4 th Open Science Metting GOA, February 16 th 2013 Food economics in

PAGES 4 th Open Science Metting GOA, February 16 th 2013 Food economics in (pre-)historical times Martin Jones University of Cambridge UK. The Homo sapiens food paradox.

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PAGES 4 th Open Science Metting GOA, February 16 th 2013 Food economics in

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  1. PAGES 4th Open Science Metting GOA, February 16th 2013 Food economics in (pre-)historical times Martin Jones University of Cambridge UK

  2. The Homo sapiens food paradox In terms of species numbers, over 10,000 taxa identified and consumed (in varying quantities) at some place and time In terms of calorific input, the human food web is currently dominated by just three grasses (wheat, rice, and maize)

  3. Charred or desiccated grains: precise dates and contexts and precise taxonomy Genetics of landraces, supplemented by historic and ancient DNA to establish historical biogeography and evolutionary response Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes to establish diet (with direct link to climate signal) Methodologies

  4. Changing crop choices • Local domesticates 10kya> • Cross-continental exchange 5kya> • Cultural domesticates 2kya> • Oceanic exchange 0.5kya>

  5. Cereal centre (c.50 species)

  6. Large-grained around 20 taxa often C3 plants long growing season responsive to high water and nutrient input grains often with dormancy and vernalisation requirements around 2.2x109 tonnes/pa (increasing) Small-grained (‘millets’) around 30 taxa often C4 plants short growing season modest water requirements grains without dormancy/ vernalisation requirements around 2.6x108 tonnes pa (declining) Cereals (domesticated grasses)

  7. Xinglonggou, Inner Mongolia 8-7.5 Kya • Individual domesticates grown quite close to their origins • small, single season rain-fed plots on foothills • part of the food chain • human fire ecology is an independent variable

  8. Changing crop choices • Local domesticates 10kya> • crops as a component of broad food webs in rain-fed plots • Cross-continental exchange 5kya>

  9. Mulei, Xinjiang Neolithic artefacts 4,000 Km east of Fertile Crescent Millet Barley 2,500 Km west of Xinglonggou

  10. Wheat, barley Rice Asian Millets and Buckwheat extent of cross-continental cereal exchange by 3.8Kya African millets and Sorghum

  11. Mogou cemetery, Gansu Province Qijia culture (4.4 – 3.9 Kya)

  12. unpublished material These stable carbon isotope data demonstrate how significant consumption of C3 cereals occurred in West China after c.4kya

  13. Using genetics to trace pathways of domestication and spread. Land races (below left) Ancient DNA (above right) Historic DNA (below right) Desiccated wheat grains from West China (4000 BP) Specimens from the Vavilov collection, st Petersburg

  14. Genetic patterns in contemporary landraces of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum) 98 accessions at 16 microsatellite loci Hunt et al. 2011 Molecular Ecology

  15. Changing crop choices • Cross-continental exchange 5kya> • valley bottom diverse multi-cropping, with reduced evironmental triggering • Cultural domesticates 2kya>

  16. Bread Wheat, Rye and Christian/ ‘Heathen’ Europe

  17. The 1930s dustbowl Bread wheat Principal regions of modern cultivation currently the human population’s principal calorific source

  18. Changing crop choices • Cultural domesticates 2kya> • adapting landscapes to narrow cultural choices of crops • Oceanic exchange 0.5kya>

  19. Maize in Europe Maize in America

  20. Energy crops for animals and servile workforces Bread wheat for Christian settlers

  21. Maize, peanuts and sweet potato ‘Columbian Exchange’ in 17th century China

  22. Finger millet in Kenya 17th C. 1930: Africa’s major cash crop 2010: At the forefront of the climate change agenda 18th C. 20th C. 19th C. Maize in Africa

  23. Changing crop choices • Local domesticates 10kya> • crops as a component of broad food webs in rain-fed plots • Cross-continental exchange 5kya> • valley bottom diverse multi-cropping, with reduced evironmental triggering • Cultural domesticates 2kya> • adapting landscapes to narrow cultural choices of crops • Oceanic exchange 0.5kya> • global markets maximising profits with highly targeted crop choice

  24. Available genome information for selected cereals

  25. Thank you! MKJ, Giedre Keen, Emma Lightfoot, Harriet Hunt, Diane Lister, Xinyi Liu Funded by: European Research Council Leverhulme Trust Wellcome Trust Darwin College British Academy Royal Society McDonald Institute Advisory team: Christopher Howe Huw Jones Alan Outram Zhao Zhijun Research partners An Chengbang Jeremy Jacob Wang Hui Wang Jianxin Victor Zaibert

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