Current and Future Applications of Genetic, Archaeological, and Ethnobotanical Data to Uncovering Avocado Domestication

  • Kevin W. Wann Texas A&M University
  • Heather B. Thakar Texas A&M University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.15.1.2024.1845
Keywords: Perennial, Fruit, Genomics, Archaeobotany, Central America

Abstract

The domestication of fruit trees is a topic of increasing significance in anthropological research. The avocado is a perennial fruit domesticated in Central America with a complex history of management and dispersal since the arrival of humans in the New World. Archaeological data illustrates the avocado’s domestication from wild to cultivar forms throughout the Holocene, while genetic and ethnobotanical evidence provide insights into ancient avocado cultivation patterns. It is only through the combined application of all three lines of evidence that we may fully understand the dynamic origins of this essential fruit.

Author Biographies

Kevin W. Wann, Texas A&M University

Kevin Wann studies the domestication of avocados in Central America through the genomic analysis of wild, ancient, and rural cultivar trees.

Heather B. Thakar, Texas A&M University

Dr. Heather Thakar studies early Holocene subsistence patterns in California and Central America through isotope and archaeobotanical analyses.

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A map of Mexico highlighting two locations, Zapotitlán, Jalisco and Xocén, Yucatán. Above Xocén is an image of a plate with carnitas and slices of avocado. Below Zapotitlán is an image of a tostada with a green topping. The map also shows neighboring countries, the United States to the north and Guatemala and Honduras to the southeast.
Published
2024-09-16
How to Cite
Wann, K. W., & Thakar, H. B. (2024). Current and Future Applications of Genetic, Archaeological, and Ethnobotanical Data to Uncovering Avocado Domestication. Ethnobiology Letters, 15(1), 53–57. https://doi.org/10.14237/ebl.15.1.2024.1845
Issue
Vol 15 No 1 (2024)
Section
Short Topical Reviews

Copyright (c) 2024 Kevin W. Wann, Heather B. Thakar

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