Deep history of coconuts decoded: Origins of cultivation, ancient trade routes, and colonization of the Americas
Friday, June 24, 2011 - 14:30
in Paleontology & Archaeology
DNA analysis of more than 1,300 coconuts from around the world reveals that the coconut was brought under cultivation in two separate locations, one in the Pacific basin and the other in the Indian Ocean basin. What's more, coconut genetics also preserve a record of prehistoric trade routes and of the colonization of the Americas.