Chapter 4

Possible pre-Columbian contacts

between the old world and new
world
Introduction
In the history of the crop plants there is no evidence of communication
between people of the old world and new worlds before the discovery or
rediscovery of America by Columbus.
New world inhabitants developed agriculture unaided up the state in which
Spanish explorer found it, with its emphasis on maize, Beans and squashes.
New world plant such as Cassava, Maize and Peanuts were exported to the
other tropical and subtropical regions.
New world agriculture plants are different from the old world plant but not
taxonomically but also by nature.
In the new world the characteristics of pre-Columbian cereal was Maize.
Old world plants
A- in tropical region Rice,Sorghum,Millets
B- temperate region Wheat rye barley, oats.
New world legumes mainly beans of genus Phaseolus, peanuts (Arachis hypogaea)
Except for new tropical beans and soybeans(Glycine max).
In china the most significant legumes were peas(Pisum sativum) lentils (Lens
esculenta) broad beans (Vicia faba).
Squashes were important in the new world, many species of the genus Cucurbita
(Cucurbitaceae) played an important role role in the diet of new world inhabitants.
On the other hand, Cucurbitaceae were relatively unimportant in the old world ,
except the water melon, and cucumber.

Root crop:
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) and Tania Xanthosoma sagittifolium are charcteristcly
new world plants.
In old world, Yam Dioscorea Taro Colocasia esculenta
In the new world, two species of spices used in their food
Caspicum pepper In old world Piper nigrum and also grain of paradise
Aframomum melegueta.
Solanumtuberosum (irish potato) native to South America
Solanum melengena (Aubergine eggplant.
New world farmers north of panama lacked domestic animals for pluwing,
carrying and producing milk,manure,wool, and meat,yet all of these were
feature of old world agriculture since prehistoric times.
The anthropologist Carleton Coon suggested that the controversy actually
boils down to the interpretationof the history a small number of plants . We
should consider coconut Cocos nucifera, The peanut Arachis hypogaea , Maize
Zea mays, Cotton Cossypium calabash or gourd.Lagenaria siceraria, sweet
potato Ipomoea batates.
The Coconut:
The coconut palm, distributed between 20-25 degrees latitude north and
south of equators.
The coconut palm is a multipurpose plant of extrem value to tropical people,
the ,\milk from seed (actually liquid endosperm)
Liquid is free from bacteria and other organisms that may cause disease and
there fore has great value in areas where natural water supplies may
contaminated.
Uses
1-Solid portion Called copra gives oil
2- Leaves used in thatching cottages
3- Sap from the stem provide sugar when fermented gives alcoholic drink.
D.F.Cook; conclude that the species is native to the new world and
widespread from their.
Coconut growing in the isthmus of panama when the Spanish arrived on
pacific side North Costa Rica to Colombia.
It was missing from Atlantic coast. That mean the coconut arrived shortly in
the new world before Columbus (early Spanish arrival)
Those who believe that the coconut palm is native to the new world have
pointed out that the 20 spp. In the genus are native to the new world.
The taxonomist which revised the genus Cocus indicated that
1- one genus is native to the old world
2- 20 spp. Is native to the new world.
Beccari ,Italian scientist point out that the Coconut is native to the Old world
(South east Asia based his conclusion on fossil records from India.
In addition to that The ward Khorpara in Sanskrit language is derived to be
Copra in modern time
Jonathan Sauer indicate that the Cocus is native to the Old world.
Crobbirgus latro found in the Burrows of Ocean Island a coconut.But not
found in any in Central America Coast.
The Calabash or Gourd:
Scientific name:Lageneria siceraria
Tropical common member of the Cucurbitaceae, fruit is edible but because of
the bitter taste,
Uses:
1- Fruit uses to store and carry solid and liquid
2- The seed might used as food.
The fruit of calabash is used as container in prehistoric time in both old world
and new world.
The fruits found in
1-Egyptian tomb, 2500B.c
2-Peruvian burials 2700B.c
3-Mexican caves 7000B.c
4-Thailand 7000B.c
Calabash does not grow wild in any place in the world except in few places in
Africa(origin Africa)
This Idea supported because
There are three species of Lagenaria growing wildly in Africa
T.Whitaker and G.F.Carter,suggested that the calabash is originate in Africa and
travel to America.
To support their idea they designed experiment by placing the fruit of calabash 2
years in sea water and conclude that the seed does not loss ability to germinate
The Plant is Monoiceous that mean one plant can make population
Calabash found in both side of Atlantic Ocean.

Sweet potato
Scientific name Ipomoea batatas
There is a good evidence that the plant found in both the new world and old
world prior to 1942.
The used Part is the swollen root tuber which is valuable
1- starch source for tropical people
2- Rich in Sugar
3- rich in carotene(which is a precursor of Vitamin A)
4- rich in Iron and Calcium
Propagation It is easy to be propagated vegetatively.
The sweet potato is generally assumed to have originated in the America
continent;
It was early recognized in south Pacific
Easter island 1722
Hawaiian Islands 1778
New Zealand 1769
Portuguese voyagers carried the sweet potato from Eastern South America to
west India before 1505, from there it was carried by the traders to Indonesia
and picked up by Polynesians and others who carried it into the Pacific Ocean
Islands.
The sweet potato was trans ported probably by man.
Plant Dieceous
Seed can not resist sea water , Germination irregular.
The name of sweet potato
In Peru Kumar
In Hawaii Umala
In New Zealand Kumar
The Plant can carried its name around if its distributed by man.Coastal people in
Peruvian called Apich
The Polynesian call it Kumaro which ,Kuu means Watery and Mara means soft.
Polynesian go to South America and Picked the sweet potato and the name given or
taken from the prisoner captured.
South American Indians carried it to Polynesian( and its name.)
If polynesian did voyage to south America it would be probably have done so before
fourteenth century
Thahiti ________________ Hawaii.

Polynesian carried Taro Colocasia esculenta

Candlenut tree Aleurites moluccana
Ti plant Cordyline terminalis
Aleurites moluccana
Cordyline terminalis
The second theory , The Peruvian Indians carried the sweet potato to
Polynesia is possible .
Peruvian Indians employed elaborate rafts of balsa wood for cargo traffic,
The Balsa tree Ochroma lagopus produce the lightest and buoyant woo in
the world
The sweet potato gives evidence of contacts between American Indians and
member of the old world human populations before 1492,The evidence can
hardly be said to be that of an important cultural contact.
Ochroma lagopus
Pea nuts: Arachis hypogaea:
The fruit is buried up to the two inches under the soil by the elongation of the stem.
Fruit are indehiscent pods contain one to four seeds.
Seed contain starch ,globules of oil.
Uses
1- manufacture of margarine
2- cooking oil and salad oil.
Origin : South America
India and China are the large producer.

Peanut found in Peruvian tombs 800B.c.

Because the peanut is know distributed wildly in Africa must be arrived there long time
ago.
The center of Arachis hypogaea differentiation is in Brazil so that the world distribution
of the peanut was taken by the Portuguese.
Vasco de Gama in his 2 ,nd Journey carried the peanut with him to India 1500
Lisbon to Brazil To around the cape of Good hoe to Gaa. In India 1516 To Canton
china to Aacao(which establish their a colony) south of Hong Kong.
Maize:
Is the pre-eminently the cereal of the New world
origin;
Known from the Mexico.
Popcorns are grown in the Naga hills of Assam by tribs of head hunters,
Anderson suggested that the area of the old world might be the source of the
Maize.
Maize transported to the new world through pacific Ocean many thousand
years ago.
Merril explain the distribution of the maize is the same way of peanut
distribution.
The Portuguese and Spanish carried from Mexico(new world to Spain then to
China.
Cotton;
Scientific name: Gossyoium.
The seed are borne inside gruits known as bolls
Coton could be divide into two groups
1- Long fiber lint
2- Short fiber fuzz
Both are perennial plants.
Wild Gossypium known from the Austuralia,Asia, Africa and America .
Cotton used since 4500-5000 years ago both in Peru and Indus valley of Asia
Cotton taxonomically dived into seven groups according to their geographical
morphological and chromosomal characters.
Hutchinson section VII 7 herbacea compirise 2 spp wild and semi wild (Old
world tropics) lead to cultivated cotton.

.
Gossypium arboreum comes from Asia from Africa.
The African origin 13 pairs of large chromosom
The Asiatic annual (Diploid plant) AA 26 Chromosom.
Section three Klotzschiana originated from Galapogas island South
America to North Arizona
Gossypium reimondii (Peru) 13 pairs (Diploid small chromosome 26 chr.
Section VIII Hirsuta
New world cultivated spp. Is the source of most cotton today Gossypium
hirsuttm American plant cotton list 1 inches
G.barbadense sea ialand cotton Egyption native to tropical America
Lint 2 inches in length