Ancient date palm cultivation in the southern Levant: a morphometric analysis of archaeological seeds from the Negev desert

Abstract

We analysed the spatio-temporal dynamics of Phoenix dactylifera (date palm) agrobiodiversity in the Negev desert, southern Levant, from the 3rd c. bce to the 10th c. ce . We applied linear measurements and Elliptic Fourier Descriptors to 2294 archaeological seeds from nine sites, and compared them with a modern reference collection of wild and cultivated Phoenix and previously published archaeological assemblages from Egypt and Libya. Seeds from the best-preserved assemblages were statistically indistinguishable in size from modern cultivated varieties and significantly larger than wild specimens. Across the Negev, 71% of seeds were assigned to the domesticated-type morphology, and shape analysis revealed a progressive shift from more rounded morphologies in the Hellenistic–Early Roman period (57% domesticated-type at Mezad Rahel) toward predominantly elongated forms in the Early Islamic period (> 75%). This shift did not narrow overall diversity: all 12 morphotypes defined from the modern reference were present in both the earliest and latest large assemblages. Regional differences were also marked: Arabah Valley sites showed broad morphotype diversity and exceptionally large seeds, consistent with active local cultivation. Negev Highlands sites, by contrast, showed reduced diversity and a concentration of highly elongated morphotypes associated with African cultivars, more consistent with the circulation of selected date types through trade networks. The Negev record forms part of a supraregional trajectory of morphological change also documented in Egypt and Libya, reflecting the progressive reshaping of cultivated date palm diversity under human management long after initial domestication.

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