The wild relatives of the Aubergine occur in sub-Saharan Africa and/or
India. Its actual place of origin seems to me still debatable but it is
certainly Old World.
Dorian Fuller
At 11:48 13/01/2003 +0100, you wrote:
>Dear colleagues,
>
>In a Dutch cesspit dated 1500-1650, I found a complete seed and
>a fragment of Solanum melongena (aubergine in Dutch). There
>is only one other record from the Netherlands, from Eindhoven
>(1600-1650) by Hannie Luijten.
>I would be pleased to hear of any other finds in (western) Europe.
>Several edible Solanaceae originate from the new world, this one
>as well??
>The seeds of "aubergine" are similar to those of Capsicum annuum
>(Spanish peppe/paprika), but the reticulate seed surface fades out
>towards the centrum of the seed in Capsicum, and remains distinct
>in Solanum melongena. This characteristic was independently
>observed by Lucina Kubiak-Martens (BIAX), who found Capsicum
>seed(s) in Amsterdam.
>In this case, I would also be interested in negative reports, e.g.
>the lack of Solanum melongena finds in (parts of) a country, such
>as the one Julian Wiethold already gave me for (northern) Germany.
>Unpublished finds are also welcome, and all will be fully acknowledged
>in an article I'm preparing now (in Dutch..).
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>oTTo
Dr. Dorian Q Fuller
Lecturer in Archaeobotany
Institute of Archaeology
University College London
31-34 Gordon Square
London WC1H 0PY
(020) 7679 4771
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/staff/profiles/fuller/index.htm
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