Schriften zu Genetischen Ressourcen - Genres

E.N. SINSKAYA’S inventory of plant taxa
Besides biogeographical data, SINSKAYA actively involved archaeological data from
the literature. This was quite unusual at that time and was reflected in the title of her
book “Historical geography of the cultivated flora”, which provided a global overview
of palaeoethnobotanical data on this problem. The tremendous recent success of archaeology
provides more precise information on the origin of agriculture. One of the
most comprehensive compilations (more than 1,000 references) of such data is the
monograph “The emergence of food-producing economy” (SHNIRELMAN 1989), in
which the historical dynamics of relations between the basic areas of development of
the flora of cultivated plants is shown (Fig. 2). The time factor, in combination with
biogeographical data, can considerably enrich our knowledge of the development of
agriculture in the world.
Conclusions
The ‘differential analysis’ approach to studies on the origin of cultivated plants allows
us to specify the boundaries of the areas of historical development of the flora of cultivated
plants and the routes of their expansion. Many new data from geography,
history and the taxonomy of cultivated plants have been accumulated. Taking
SINSKAYA’s views into account will promote our knowledge of the development of agriculture
on the Earth, increase the efficiency of screening for valuable breeding material,
and improve research methods for the study of plant genetic resources maintained
in genebanks.
Acknowledgements
Charles JEFFREY (St. Petersburg) and Richard N. LESTER (Birmingham) gave valuable
comments on earlier versions of the manuscript; R.N. LESTER also translated Mansfeld’s
words from German. The contribution of A.A. FILATENKO was supported through
a grant of the German Ministry of Consumer Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture.
References
FILATENKO, A.A., A. DIEDERICHSEN and K. HAMMER (1999): VAVILOV’s work on the
theories of domestication of the crop plants in the Old Mediterranean Area. - In:
A.B. DAMANIA, J. VALKOUN, G. WILLCOX and C.O. QUALSET (Eds.), The Origins of
Agriculture and the Domestication of Crop Plants in the Near East, The Harlan
Symposium. Aleppo, Syria, pp. 9-24.
MANSFELD, R. (1951): Das morphologische System des Saatweizens, Triticum aestivum
L. s.l. - Züchter 21, 41-60.
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