AGRUMED: Archaeology and history of citrus fruit in the Mediterranean

Acclimatization, diversifications, uses

Véronique Zech-Matterne, Girolamo Fiorentino

• Publisher: Publications du Centre Jean Bérard
• eBook ISBN:
  9782918887775
• Year: 2017

The book brings together 16 contributions on the ancient and recent history of citrus fruits. Although they represent the main fruit production on a worldwide scale, very little is known about their original domestication and routes of introduction into the Mediterranean and temperate Europe: few organic remains identified as citrus have been found on archaeological sites. Nevertheless, evidence has been retrieved for various periods in the form of pollen grains, seeds, rind fragments, and occasionally wood and whole fruits in areas of primo-domestication, Asian, and from sites along the potential routes of diffusion. Iconographic figurations and textual references also exist. The contributions presented here – written by researchers specializing in phylogeny, taxonomy, morphometry, archaeobotany, history, iconography, the study of classical letters, and curators of collections – present the latest knowledge relating to the taxonomy of the Citrus genus and the methods used in attempting to identify ancient specimens. Analysis of botanical remains and a variety of other sources, has allowed the citrus diversity in China, India, Israel, Egypt, Italy, and North-West Europe to be described. Greek, Latin and medieval texts have been explored in order to identify recognized species, cultivation methods, modes of consumption, uses, and virtues attributed to citrus fruits since their first occurrences. The conservatories and germplasm collections of citrus are presented from a historical point of view, as are the important role they play in genetic research to improve cultivars, the conservation of rare and ancient varieties, and the role of informing the general public is also emphasized. The symbolic representation of citrus fruits in the arts, literature, and philosophy completes this overview, and fills a gap concerning these emblematic Mediterranean fruit.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Bibliographic informations
• First pages
• Table of contents
• Preface
• Introduction to ‘AGRUMED: Archaeology and history of citrus fruit in the Mediterranean: Acclimatization, diversification, uses’
• Recent insights on Citrus diversity and phylogeny
• Charred pummelo peel, historical linguistics and other tree crops: Approaches to framing the historical context of early Citrus cultivation in East, South and Southeast Asia
• The earliest evidence for citrus in Egypt
• The history of Citrus medica (citron) in the Near East: Botanical remains and ancient art and texts
• Investigating the introduction of citrus fruit in the Western Mediterranean according to ancient Greek and Latin texts
• Painted gardens: Observations on execution technique
• Pollen morphology reveals the presence of Citrus medica and Citrus x limon in a garden of Villa di Poppea in Oplontis (1st century BC)
• Macroremains of citrus fruit in Italy
• Quantitative evaluation of modern Citrus seed shape and comparison with archaeological remains discovered in Pompeii and Rome
• Citrium: A miraculous fruit. Investigating the uses of citrus fruit in the Western Mediterranean according to ancient Greek and Latin texts
• Citrus fruit in historical France: Written sources, iconographic and plant remains
• The history of Citrus in the Low Countries during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age
• The humanistic tradition of citrus culture in Central Europe from the 15th to the 18th century
• Research on and maintenance of the modern-day citrus collections in Germany and Austria
• The INRA-CIRAD citrus germplasm collection of San Giuliano, Corsica