| Autor: |
Ucchesu M; Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), University of Montpellier-CNRS-IRD-EPHE, 34000 Montpellier, France., Depalmas A; Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche e Sociali (DUMAS), Università di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy., Sarigu M; Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (CCB), Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente (DISVA), Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Viale Sant'Ignazio da Laconi, 13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy., Gardiman M; Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology (CREA-VE), 31015 Conegliano, Italy., Lallai A; Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (CCB), Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente (DISVA), Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Viale Sant'Ignazio da Laconi, 13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy., Meggio F; Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, 35020 Padova, Italy.; Interdepartmental Research Centre for Viticulture and Enology (CIRVE), University of Padova, Via XXVIII Aprile 14, 31015 Treviso, Italy., Usai A; Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la Città Metropolitana di Cagliari e le Province di Oristano e Sud Sardegna, 09123 Cagliari, Italy., Bacchetta G; Centro Conservazione Biodiversità (CCB), Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente (DISVA), Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Viale Sant'Ignazio da Laconi, 13, 09123 Cagliari, Italy. |
| Abstrakt: |
The grapevine was one of the earliest domesticated fruit crops and has been cultivated since ancient times. It is considered one of the most important fruit crops worldwide for wine and table grape production. The current grape varieties are the outcome of prolonged selection initiated during the domestication process of their wild relative. Recent genetic studies have shed light on the origins of the modern domestic grapevine in western Europe, suggesting that its origin stems from the introgression between eastern domestic grapes and western wild grapes. However, the origin of ancient grapevines remains largely unexplored. In this study, we conducted an extensive analysis of 2228 well-preserved waterlogged archaeological grape pips from two sites in Sardinia (Italy), dated to the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300-1100 BC) and the Iron Age (4th and 3rd centuries BC). Using morphometrics and linear discriminant analyses, we compared the archaeological grape pips with modern reference collections to differentiate between wild and domestic grape types and to investigate similarities with 330 modern cultivars. Grape pips from the Late Bronze Age displayed a high percentage of similarity with domesticated grapevines, with a small percentage assigned to wild ones, while the majority of grape pips from the Iron Age were classified as domestic. Discriminant analyses revealed that both white and red grape varieties were cultivated during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, suggesting a high level of diversification in grape cultivation. Furthermore, a high percentage of archaeological grape pips from both periods showed strong similarities with modern cultivars from the Caucasus and Balkans. This suggests that the great diversity of grapevines present in Sardinia could result from interbreeding between western Asian cultivars and local grapevines that began in the Late Bronze Age. Additionally, a substantial proportion of archaeological grape pips exhibited similar morphometric characteristics to two important Mediterranean grape cultivars: "Muscat à petits grains blancs" and "Garnacha". |
