Florenzano Assunta, Zappa Jessica, Mercuri Anna Maria
Laboratory of Palynology and Palaeobotany-Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, MO, Italy.
Doctorate School in Models and Methods for Material and Environmental Sciences, Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, MO, Italy.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2025 May;380(1926):20240205. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0205. Epub 2025 May 15.
This contribution is a survey of the research on the long-lasting relationship between plants and humans in the Holocene 'green' Sahara. Based on archaeobotanical data, including pollen and other plant remains, we present the complex dynamics of environmental instability and cultural trajectories, which had joint effects on plant communities and human behaviour in this area. The review illustrates the scientific methodological approach to archaeo-environmental reconstruction through case studies of ethnobotany and archaeobotany, showing the adaptation strategies of plants and humans living in changing environments since the Early Holocene, before and after desertification. Most of the plant species exploited during the Holocene in the Sahara were wild plants, and among them some wild grasses supplied food as cereals. Interestingly, these wild cereals are often considered weeds in modern agriculture as they belong to species with great phenotypic plasticity and opportunistic behaviour. The links between natural resources and their exploitation, environmental and climatic changes, resilience and adaptation are investigated in an interdisciplinary and holistic perspective.This article is part of the theme issue 'Unravelling domestication: multi-disciplinary perspectives on human and non-human relationships in the past, present and future'.
本文是对全新世“绿色”撒哈拉地区植物与人类长期关系研究的综述。基于包括花粉和其他植物遗迹在内的考古植物学数据,我们呈现了环境不稳定和文化轨迹的复杂动态,它们对该地区的植物群落和人类行为产生了共同影响。通过民族植物学和考古植物学的案例研究,本综述阐述了考古环境重建的科学方法,展示了自全新世早期沙漠化前后,生活在不断变化环境中的植物和人类的适应策略。全新世期间撒哈拉地区所利用的大多数植物物种都是野生植物,其中一些野草作为谷物提供食物。有趣的是,这些野生谷物在现代农业中常被视为杂草,因为它们属于具有高度表型可塑性和机会主义行为的物种。本文从跨学科和整体的角度研究了自然资源及其开发利用、环境和气候变化、恢复力与适应之间的联系。本文是主题为“揭开驯化之谜:关于过去、现在和未来人类与非人类关系的多学科视角”特刊的一部分。