Dear all

 

I am in the process of writing up Quseir al-Qadim (Egypt) plant remains, where I have found a number of so-called summer crops, which have been the focus of debates about the Early Islamic agricultural revolution in the Near East (Watson 1983). I would be very interested to hear from you if you have found any of the following crops in North Africa, East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Near East, esp. when dating to the period c. AD1 – 1500.

 

The species I am interested in are:

Sorghum bicolor, sorghum

Pennisetum glaucum, pearl millet, bulrush millet

Saccharum officinarum, sugar-cane

Oryza sativa, rice

Gossypium sp., cotton (old world)

Citrus species

Musa spp., banana

Solanum melongena, aubergine

Colocasia esculenta, taro

Citrullus vulgaris, watermelon

Cynara cardunculus/scolymus, artichoke

Spinacia oleracea, spinach

Mangifera indica, mango

Cocos nucifera, coconut

 

If you have archaeobotanical records of any of these, would you send me a reference and, if possible, an offprint or xerox.

 

Many thanks,

 

Marijke

 

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Professor Marijke van der Veen, MA, PhD, FSA

School of Archaeology & Ancient History

University of Leicester

University Road

Leicester LE1 7RH

England