138
8 Transoceanic Trading in Two Oceans
lima bean (P. lunatus) and the phasey bean (Macroptilum lathyroides) are clearly
first-wave introductions. Sorenson and Johannessen record that all three have
been discovered in multiple archaeological sites in India of the 2nd millennium
BC. . .Pokharia and Saraswat (1998–1999, 99) report that Phaseolus “beans of American
origin have been encountered from proto-historic sites in peninsular India.” P. vulgaris
was recorded from the pre-Prabhas and Prabhas cultures at Prabhas Patan, Junagadh Dist.,
Gujarat, dated from 1800 BC to AD 600. They also came from Chalcolithic Inamgaon
(about 1600 BC), Pune Dist., Maharashtra, and from Neolithic Tekkalkota, Bellary Dist.,
Karnataka, with a radiocarbon date of 1620 BC. P. vulgaris, P. lunatus, and the phasey
bean have also been recorded by Vishnu-Mittre, Sharma, and Chanchala (1986) in deposits
of the Malwa and Jorwe cultures (1600–1000 BC) at Diamabad in Ahmednagar Dist.,
Maharashtra. The phasey bean was also found at the Sanghol site (Pokharia and Saraswat
1998–1999, 99), dated in early AD times (Part One, p. 42).
Three annona species were taken to India. The fruit and leaves of the sweetsop (Annona squamosa) “depicted at Bharhut Stupa place the plant in India by the
2nd century BC (Gupta 1996, 19–20)” (Part One, p. 25). That is, it is a secondwave introduction. But the custard apple (Annona reticulata) is referred to in a text
assigned to the 6th century BC. The latter date may imply a first-wave introduction
for the custard apple, as also for the pineapple pictured on an Assyrian bas-relief
of the 7th century BC (p. 24), the introduction of these plants necessarily preceding
the global cold period which would have begun some centuries earlier.
Dating for a first-wave introduction to India of the Mexican prickle poppy
(Argemone mexicana) is certain. Sorenson and Johannessen note that “An archaeological find of A. mexicana seeds at Narhan in Uttar Pradesh assures us that the
plant was being grown in India, possibly as a medicinal drug, as early as 1100 BC
(Pokharia and Saraswat 1998–1999, 90, 100)” (p. 25).
8.3.2 First-Wave Introductions of Old World Plants to America
There is evidence also for three first-wave introductions of Old World plants to
America. The first is of an Old World plant (Luffa cylindrica) known as the
“vegetable sponge”. Sorenson and Johannessen tell us that
It was grown in South and Southeast Asia (Brucher 1989, 267) where it played a significant
role in medicine (Nayar and Singh 1998, 14–15). It has also been cultivated for a long
time in the Americas, according to Heiser (1989; 1985). . .Kosakowsky et al. (2000, 199)
excavated pottery on coastal Guatemala dating around 1200 BC that had been decorated by
daubing the pot’s surface with paint using as a tool the unique cut stem end of L. cylindrica
(p. 35).
Another first-wave introduction of an Old World plant to America may have been
the banana (Musa balbisiana × acuminata). Sorenson and Johannessen tell us that
“a word has been reconstructed in the proto-Mayan language dating to the 2nd millennium BC that is glossed by Kaufman and Norman (1984; followed by England
1992, 25) as platano, banana” (p. 39). Though its geographical origin may have been
the Bay of Bengal, the banana underwent domestication in Wallacea that rendered
8 Transoceanic Trading in Two Oceans
lima bean (P. lunatus) and the phasey bean (Macroptilum lathyroides) are clearly
first-wave introductions. Sorenson and Johannessen record that all three have
been discovered in multiple archaeological sites in India of the 2nd millennium
BC. . .Pokharia and Saraswat (1998–1999, 99) report that Phaseolus “beans of American
origin have been encountered from proto-historic sites in peninsular India.” P. vulgaris
was recorded from the pre-Prabhas and Prabhas cultures at Prabhas Patan, Junagadh Dist.,
Gujarat, dated from 1800 BC to AD 600. They also came from Chalcolithic Inamgaon
(about 1600 BC), Pune Dist., Maharashtra, and from Neolithic Tekkalkota, Bellary Dist.,
Karnataka, with a radiocarbon date of 1620 BC. P. vulgaris, P. lunatus, and the phasey
bean have also been recorded by Vishnu-Mittre, Sharma, and Chanchala (1986) in deposits
of the Malwa and Jorwe cultures (1600–1000 BC) at Diamabad in Ahmednagar Dist.,
Maharashtra. The phasey bean was also found at the Sanghol site (Pokharia and Saraswat
1998–1999, 99), dated in early AD times (Part One, p. 42).
Three annona species were taken to India. The fruit and leaves of the sweetsop (Annona squamosa) “depicted at Bharhut Stupa place the plant in India by the
2nd century BC (Gupta 1996, 19–20)” (Part One, p. 25). That is, it is a secondwave introduction. But the custard apple (Annona reticulata) is referred to in a text
assigned to the 6th century BC. The latter date may imply a first-wave introduction
for the custard apple, as also for the pineapple pictured on an Assyrian bas-relief
of the 7th century BC (p. 24), the introduction of these plants necessarily preceding
the global cold period which would have begun some centuries earlier.
Dating for a first-wave introduction to India of the Mexican prickle poppy
(Argemone mexicana) is certain. Sorenson and Johannessen note that “An archaeological find of A. mexicana seeds at Narhan in Uttar Pradesh assures us that the
plant was being grown in India, possibly as a medicinal drug, as early as 1100 BC
(Pokharia and Saraswat 1998–1999, 90, 100)” (p. 25).
8.3.2 First-Wave Introductions of Old World Plants to America
There is evidence also for three first-wave introductions of Old World plants to
America. The first is of an Old World plant (Luffa cylindrica) known as the
“vegetable sponge”. Sorenson and Johannessen tell us that
It was grown in South and Southeast Asia (Brucher 1989, 267) where it played a significant
role in medicine (Nayar and Singh 1998, 14–15). It has also been cultivated for a long
time in the Americas, according to Heiser (1989; 1985). . .Kosakowsky et al. (2000, 199)
excavated pottery on coastal Guatemala dating around 1200 BC that had been decorated by
daubing the pot’s surface with paint using as a tool the unique cut stem end of L. cylindrica
(p. 35).
Another first-wave introduction of an Old World plant to America may have been
the banana (Musa balbisiana × acuminata). Sorenson and Johannessen tell us that
“a word has been reconstructed in the proto-Mayan language dating to the 2nd millennium BC that is glossed by Kaufman and Norman (1984; followed by England
1992, 25) as platano, banana” (p. 39). Though its geographical origin may have been
the Bay of Bengal, the banana underwent domestication in Wallacea that rendered