Archaeology – Page 67 – Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog

June 11, 2016April 13, 2021

Pomegranate symbolism through the ages

Those of you that remember us agonizing about the minutae of agrobiodiversity iconography, to the extent of wondering if this

was indeed what it seemed to be, will rejoice with us that, with regards to pomegranates at least, we seem to have found the motherlode.

Pomegranates in Granada: Left by Rob via Flickr (Creative Commons); right by Jebulon via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons)

LATER: And then some.

LATER STILL: And then some more.

Nibbles: Agroecology, Seaweed, Groundnut genomes, Roman food, Nature

It’s not the science, stupid.
More kelp, sir?
New genome promises ~~world domination~~ non-allergenic peanut.
The diet of Roman soldiers in Glasgow could have been worse. But did they have take-out?
There is no more Nature, capital N.

May 31, 2016July 14, 2017

Nibbles: Heirloom rice, Kava traditions, State turnip, Japanese paper, Potato Day, Madagascar invasion

There’s Carolina Gold in them thar hills. Latest in a long list…
Kava in the Pacific, island by island.
A really ugly heirloom turnip is Vermont’s state vegetable. In other news, there are state vegetables.
This video will make you want to make your own paper, I guarantee it.
Oh come on, we missed Peru’s National Potato Day?
Crop remains confirm Malagasy origins. But was Carolina Gold among them? Here’s the paper.

May 18, 2016May 18, 2016

Nibbles: GRIN-Global, Old gardens, Grain buildings, Roman eating, Armenian wine, Coffee GI, PAPGREN, Tamar Haspel double

How to look for stuff in Chile’s genebank.
How colonial Americans gardened. And later built stuff out of produce.
How Romans ate.
How Armenians are (still) making wine.
How to figure out where your coffee comes from.
How the Pacific is saving its crop diversity.
How organic agriculture delivers benefits, and how it does not.
How GMOs deliver benefits, and how they do not. By the same person as the above.

Nibbles: Fixing food, Diane Medal, Iraq Edens, Camel genetics, Disappearing horses

UNEP video on why we have to change the food system.
Garden Club of America honors breadfruit guru Diane Ragone.
Paradise spared. In Iraq.
No such thing as an isolated dromedary, DNA says.
Horses in Kazakhstan, on the other hand…

1. Prof. KC Bansal, who used to run the Indian national genebank, gets a much-deserved UNESCO honour.
2. Friend-of-the-blog Dr Mike Jackson on running a rice genebank. UNESCO honour for him too?
3. Spain’s strawberry genebank gets its 15 minutes.
4. University and Native American nation collaborate on regenerating heritage corn varieties.
5. The pros and cons of heritage varieties, according to an American farmer.
6. Did the ancient Romans have heritage apples?
7. Beautifully written piece on the use of heritage varieties — and much else besides — in breeding hazelnuts in the US. If you only read one of these Nibbles, read this one.
8. Old shipwrecked rye seeds may end up in whiskey. Best place for them.
9. Old Serbian grapevine herbarium samples should stay right where they are.
10. Old horses most certainly did not stay where they were. But where was that exactly?
11. Not sure where old bottled fruit from Washington’s estate will end up. The DNA lab maybe, like those Serbian grapevines?
12. There’s going to be a Worldwide Day of Botanical Art on May 18, 2025. Rejoice.
13. Decolonizing food insecurity in West Africa.
Published on January 17, 2025