Prehistoric people started to spread domesticated bananas across the world 6,000 years ago

Prehistoric people started to spread domesticated bananas across the world 6,000 years ago

6 years ago
Anonymous $TjsaxHwAP-

https://phys.org/news/2018-07-prehistoric-people-domesticated-bananas-world.html

Wild bananas can be found in the wet hot forests of New Guinea and South and Southeast Asia, but for many years the origin of domesticated bananas was a complete mystery. Finding ancient evidence for soft, sappy plants like bananas is extremely difficult at the best of times. The problem is worse in the tropical forests, because of the rapid decay of organic matter in the heat and humidity.

The answer was to use phytoliths, a technique first experimentally used in the late 1950s and adopted by archaeologists in the 1970s. These are tiny, complex-shaped particles of silica laid down in plant cells. Silica is an extremely durable mineral, and silica phytoliths have been shown to survive for millions of years in suitable circumstances. Phytoliths have provided an exciting tool for archaeologists and palaeobotanists exploring the origin and history of tropical plants. Some phytoliths of domesticated bananas are distinctive, and therefore give us a tool to chart their appearance in ancient sediments.