A 15th-century manuscript shows trees bearing (clockwise from top left): sweet apples, jujubes, lemons, cherries, dates, and sour apples.© BnF, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY
Posted on 06/18/2025 10:29:44 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
By 7,000 years ago, people in New Guinea were cultivating bananas. Around the same time, figs in the Near East and avocados in Mesoamerica were well on their way to becoming the fruits we savor today. People across the world consume an astonishing variety of fruits. These range from the smallest edible example -- a neon green sphere produced by the Asian watermeal plant that measures less than the width of a pencil tip -- to the largest, the 100-pound yellowish-green jackfruit. "The fruit we eat now is a result of people experimenting extensively for thousands of years," says archaeobotanist Erica Rowan of Royal Holloway.
For archaeologists, evidence of ancient fruit opens unexpected pathways to understanding the past. "The seeds or pits of fruit are quite hardy and survive well in the archaeological record," says Rowan. Studying fruit can give scholars glimpses of the ingenuity of ancient peoples -- for example, some used figs preserved in honey as a source of precious calories during harsh winters. People of all eras, it seems, have coveted fruit as a welcome departure from ordinary fare. "Fruit was used as a source of sugar, nutrients, flavor, and lots of different textures," says Rowan. "Fruit was everywhere, all the time. It has always been very important to people."
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
A 15th-century manuscript shows trees bearing (clockwise from top left): sweet apples, jujubes, lemons, cherries, dates, and sour apples.© BnF, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais/Art Resource, NY
Time really flies, doesn't it? I wonder if Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit is still being taught.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Shoots. You’re not monkeying around. That’s some deep-dive intel you slipped in.
Good thing they did! or,
Yes, we have no bananas...............
Cross Posted to The Garden Thread. Thanks!
My small Strawberry patch is done for the season. Hascaps (Honeyberry) and wild Black Cap Raspberries are ripening, as are the Cherries, which are up next in the rotation. Apples, Peaches and Pears look like they will be in abundance this season; we had a perfect Spring with no late frosts/freezes.
Just carrying on the tradition. Wish I could have an Avocado tree. ;)
What did people eat before there was abundant fruit? I’m guessing meat.
Our orchard plants two varieties of strawberries, and the second kind is in for probably another week. These berries are so much better than the store kind. They’re red all the way through, not white in the middle. Every nibble is scrumptious. Also pick your own raspberries is in full swing there. Hopefully till the first week of July, when my son, DIL, and 2 grandsons (ages 4 and 16 months) come to visit.
Fond memories of picking strawberries with my Mom and Grandma when I was a kid, too. Love them!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
