<i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation
The genus <i>Brassica</i> includes some of the most important vegetable and oil crops worldwide. Many <i>Brassica</i> seeds (which can show diagnostic characters useful for species identification) were recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Italy, dated from betw...
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| author | Giovanna Bosi Simona De Felice Michael J. Wilkinson Joël Allainguillaume Laura Arru Juri Nascimbene Fabrizio Buldrini |
| author_facet | Giovanna Bosi Simona De Felice Michael J. Wilkinson Joël Allainguillaume Laura Arru Juri Nascimbene Fabrizio Buldrini |
| author_sort | Giovanna Bosi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The genus <i>Brassica</i> includes some of the most important vegetable and oil crops worldwide. Many <i>Brassica</i> seeds (which can show diagnostic characters useful for species identification) were recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Italy, dated from between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We tested the combined use of archaeobotanical keys, ancient DNA barcoding, and references to ancient herbarium specimens to address the issue of diagnostic uncertainty. An unequivocal conventional diagnosis was possible for much of the material recovered, with the samples dominated by five <i>Brassica</i> species and <i>Sinapis</i>. The analysis using ancient DNA was restricted to the seeds with a <i>Brassica</i>-type structure and deployed a variant of multiplexed tandem PCR. The quality of diagnosis strongly depended on the molecular locus used. Nevertheless, many seeds were diagnosed down to species level, in concordance with their morphological identification, using one primer set from the core barcode site (<i>matK</i>). The number of specimens found in the Renaissance herbaria was not high; <i>Brassica nigra</i>, which is of great ethnobotanical importance, was the most common taxon. Thus, the combined use of independent means of species identification is particularly important when studying the early use of closely related crops, such as Brassicaceae. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:44:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b43b6cbdc44438ca7832b40a973a11c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:44:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b43b6cbdc44438ca7832b40a973a11c2023-11-30T22:14:04ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472022-08-011116210010.3390/plants11162100<i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical InterpretationGiovanna Bosi0Simona De Felice1Michael J. Wilkinson2Joël Allainguillaume3Laura Arru4Juri Nascimbene5Fabrizio Buldrini6Department of Life Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyInstitute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3EE, UKInstitute of Biological Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth SY23 3EE, UKDepartment of Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol BS16 1QY, UKDepartment of Life Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, ItalyBIOME Lab—Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyBIOME Lab—Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, ItalyThe genus <i>Brassica</i> includes some of the most important vegetable and oil crops worldwide. Many <i>Brassica</i> seeds (which can show diagnostic characters useful for species identification) were recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Italy, dated from between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We tested the combined use of archaeobotanical keys, ancient DNA barcoding, and references to ancient herbarium specimens to address the issue of diagnostic uncertainty. An unequivocal conventional diagnosis was possible for much of the material recovered, with the samples dominated by five <i>Brassica</i> species and <i>Sinapis</i>. The analysis using ancient DNA was restricted to the seeds with a <i>Brassica</i>-type structure and deployed a variant of multiplexed tandem PCR. The quality of diagnosis strongly depended on the molecular locus used. Nevertheless, many seeds were diagnosed down to species level, in concordance with their morphological identification, using one primer set from the core barcode site (<i>matK</i>). The number of specimens found in the Renaissance herbaria was not high; <i>Brassica nigra</i>, which is of great ethnobotanical importance, was the most common taxon. Thus, the combined use of independent means of species identification is particularly important when studying the early use of closely related crops, such as Brassicaceae.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/16/2100FerraraLugonorthern ItalyMiddle AgesRenaissancearchaeobotany |
| spellingShingle | Giovanna Bosi Simona De Felice Michael J. Wilkinson Joël Allainguillaume Laura Arru Juri Nascimbene Fabrizio Buldrini <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation Plants Ferrara Lugo northern Italy Middle Ages Renaissance archaeobotany |
| title | <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation |
| title_full | <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation |
| title_fullStr | <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation |
| title_short | <i>Brassica</i> and <i>Sinapis</i> Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation |
| title_sort | i brassica i and i sinapis i seeds in medieval archaeological sites an example of multiproxy analysis for their identification and ethnobotanical interpretation |
| topic | Ferrara Lugo northern Italy Middle Ages Renaissance archaeobotany |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/11/16/2100 |
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