Diversity and origin of bottle gourd, Lagenaria

  • Yuasa, Hiroshi (The Research institute of evolutionary biology Setagaya-ku)
  • Published : 2002.11.01

Abstract

Bottle gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, is one of the oldest cultivated plants. To bigin with, its fruit was used as a complete liquid bottle or container. It was a very widespread cultivated plant in prehistoric times, for example (there) is a report from Peru as early as between 13,000 B.C and 11,000 B.C. The dug-out finds in Japan proved to be about 95,000 years old according to the $^{14}$ C analysis. The bottle grourd was the most important plant before the invention of pottery in many areas of Asia, New Guinea, Polynesia, America, and Africa. I would like to suggest that there should be “The Bottle Gourd Age” prior to the Pottery Age.(중략)

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