Integrating Grapevine Palaeogenomics with Archaeobotanical Methods to Explore the History of Winemaking

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Increasing the Accessibility of Ancient DNA within Archaeology" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Genomic analyses of archaeological seeds and other plant remains are playing an increasingly important role in unravelling domestication histories. In some cases, these findings are revising longstanding interpretations developed from archaeobotanical methods, and questions remain on how archaeological and genomic methods can be synthesized into a cohesive whole. This project serves as an example of how conventional archaeobotanical methods can be incorporated into genome-wide analyses of archaeological remains, specifically to investigate the origins and spread of viniculture. Through a close partnership between archaeobotanists, grapevine geneticists, ampelographers, and ancient DNA researchers, we aim to better understand how humans transformed wild plants into productive vines, primarily for winemaking. By combining the results of geometric morphometrics and genetic characterization of thousands of genetic markers, we demonstrate that a synergistic approach is possible, and moreover, that our interpretations benefit from the insights of researchers from different disciplines. For the history of grapevines, the collaboration is leading to important discoveries about the longevity of vegetative propagation and the origins of key cultivars.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Increasing the Accessibility of Ancient DNA within Archaeology

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32734