The History and Domestication of Bananas

Bananas (Musa spp) are a tropical crop, and a staple in the wet tropic areas of Africa, the Americas, mainland and island Southeast Asia, South Asia, Melanesia, and the Pacific islands. Perhaps 87% of the total bananas consumed worldwide today are locally consumed; the rest is distributed outside of the wet tropical regions in which they are grown. Today there are hundreds of fully domesticated banana varieties, and an uncertain number are still in various stages of domestication: that is to say, they still are inter-fertile with wild populations. Bananas are basically giant herbs, rather than trees, and there are approximately 50 species in the Musa genus, which includes the edible forms of bananas and plantains. The genus is split into four or five sections, based on the number of chromosomes in the plant, and the region where they are found. Furthermore, over a thousand different types of cultivars of bananas and plantains are recognized today. The different varieties are characterized by wide differences in peel color and thickness, flavor, fruit size, and resistance to disease. The bright yellow one found most frequently in western markets is called the Cavendish. Cultivating Bananas Bananas produce vegetative suckers at the base of the plant which can be removed and planted separately. Bananas are planted at a typical density of between 1500-2500 plants per square hectare. Between 9-14 months after planting, each plant produces some 20-40 kilograms of fruit. After the harvest, the plant is cut down, and one sucker is allowed to grow up to produce the next crop. Banana Phytoliths The evolution,  or plant systematics, of bananas are difficult to study archaeologically, and so the domestication history was unknowable until recently. Banana pollen, seeds, and pseudostem impressions are quite rare or absent at archaeological sites, and much of the recent research has been focused on the relatively new technologies associated with opal phytoliths—basically silicon copies of cells created by the plant itself. Banana phytoliths are uniquely shaped: they are volcaniform, shaped like little volcanoes with a flat crater at the top. There are differences in the phytoliths between varieties of bananas, but variations between wild and domesticated versions are not as yet definitive, so additional forms of research need to be used to fully understand banana domestication. Genetics and Linguistics Genetics and linguistic studies also help in understanding banana history. Diploid and triploid forms of bananas have been identified, and their distribution throughout the world is a key piece of evidence. In addition, linguistic studies of local terms for bananas support the notion of the spread of the banana away from its point of origin: island southeast Asia. Exploitation of early wild forms of bananas has been noted at the Beli-Lena site of Sri Lanka by c 11,500-13,500 BP, Gua Chwawas in Malaysia by 10,700 BP, and Poyang Lake, China by 11,500 BP. Kuk Swamp, in Papua New Guinea, so far the earliest unequivocal evidence for banana cultivation, had wild bananas there throughout the Holocene, and banana phytoliths are associated with the earliest human occupations at Kuk Swamp, between ~10,220-9910 cal BP. Todays Hybridized Bananas Bananas have been cultivated and hybridized a number of times over several thousand years, so well concentrate on the original domestication, and leave the hybridization to botanists. All edible bananas today are hybridized from  Musa acuminata  (diploid) or  M. acuminata  crossed with  M. balbisiana  (triploid). Today,  M. acuminata  is found throughout mainland and island southeast Asia including the eastern half of the Indian subcontinent;  M. balbisiana  is mostly found in mainland Southeast Asia. Genetic changes from  M. acuminata  created by the domestication process include the suppression of seeds and the development of parthenocarpy: the ability of humans to create a new crop without the need for fertilization. Bananas Across the World Archaeological evidence from the  Kuk Swamp  of the highlands of New Guinea indicates that bananas were deliberately planted by at least as long ago as 5000-4490 BC (6950-6440 cal BP). Additional evidence indicates that  Musa acuminata  ssp  banksii  F. Muell was dispersed out of New Guinea and introduced into eastern Africa by ~3000 BC (Munsa and Nkang), and into South Asia (the Harappan site of Kot Diji) by 2500 cal BC, and probably earlier. The earliest banana evidence found in Africa is from  Munsa, a site in Uganda dated to 3220 cal BC, although there are problems with the stratigraphy and chronology. The earliest well-supported evidence is at Nkang, a site located in southern Cameroon, which contained banana phytoliths dated between 2,750 to 2,100 BP. Like  coconuts, bananas were most widely spread as a result of the sea exploration of the Pacific by Lapita peoples ca 3000 BP, of extensive trade voyages throughout the Indian Ocean by Arab traders, and of exploration of the Americas by Europeans. Sources Ball T, Vrydaghs L, Van Den Hauwe I, Manwaring J, and De Langhe E. 2006.  Differentiating banana phytoliths: wild and edible Musa acuminata and Musa Journal of Archaeological Science 33(9):1228-1236.De Langhe E, Vrydaghs L, de Maret P, Perrier X, and Denham T. 2009. Why Bananas Matter: An introduction to the history of banana domestication.  Ethnobotany Research Applications  7:165-177. Open AccessDenham T, Fullagar R, and Head L. 2009.  Plant exploitation on Sahul: From   Quaternary International  202(1-2):29-40.colonisation to the emergence of regional specialisation during the Holocene.Denham TP, Harberle SG, Lentfer C, Fullagar R, Field J, Therin M, Porch N, and Winsborough B. 2003.  Origins of Agriculture at Kuk Swamp in the Highlands of New Guinea.  Science  301(5630):189-193.Donohue M, and Denham T. 2009.  Banana (Musa spp.) Domestication in the Asia-Pacific Region: Linguistic and archaeobotanical perspectives.  Ethnobotany Research Applications  7:29 3-332. Open AccessHeslop-Harrison JS, and Schwarzacher T. 2007.  Domestication, Genomics and the Future for Banana.  Annals of Botany  100(5):1073-1084.Lejju BJ, Robertshaw P, and Taylor D. 2006.  Africas earliest bananas?  Journal of Archaeological Science  33(1):102-113.Pearsall DM. 2008.  Plant . In: Pearsall DM, editor.  Encyclopedia of Archaeology. London: Elsevier Inc. p 1822-1842.Perrier X, De Langhe E, Donohue M, Lentfer C, Vrydaghs L, Bakry F, Carreel F, Hippolyte I, Horry J-P, Jenny C et al. 2011.  Multidisciplinary perspectives on banana (Musa spp.) domestication.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  Early Edition.

Women s Rights Of Women Essay - 1710 Words

Equality is something America prides itself on having, equality of rights between every race and ethnicity, because as we were so told, â€Å"All men are created equal.† We’ve assumed that they implied all humans, not simply the male gender when speaking that truth. However, women only gained their rights within the last 100 years and that famous quote was spoken centuries ago. So does this famous quote only apply to the male gender of our society? It seemed that for the longest time it did until women supposedly gained equal rights. Even though we have the right to vote, and have been making our way into male-dominated worlds such as sports, there are still aspects of the world in which women are unfairly treated compared to men. The injustice here is one that should not continue for many reasons, women as an equal gender to men deserve to be treated as such. To provide for their families, and themselves, women have the equal talent and skills to be compensated for. 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Anthropology and Globalization Perspective †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Anthropology and Globalization Perspective. Answer: Introduction: As depicted in the film, Guatemala: The Human Price of Coffee, globalization has had devastating effects on the farmers of Guatemala. Most of these farmers are small scale producers who took up the skills from their ancestors. They have grown up in a culture of growing coffee. There has been lack of fair trade hence leading the small scale farmers to get very low incomes from coffee, even lower than the cost of production. Previously, Guatemalan coffee produced by small scale farmers was purchased by Germany and the United States. Later, middlemen and stock brokers came in and the farmers end up getting a very little percentage of the annual coffee earnings. Most of the earnings go to middlemen and large producers. In Guatemala 2% of the population are large scale coffee producers and they control 65% of the farmland (Infobase, 2004). Buying a cup of coffee affects farmers in Guatemala since they get very little and the people at the end of the chain are the ones who benefit more. Th e farmers are unable to live decent lives, sustain their families and school their children due to their poor economic conditions and yet coffee growing is considered as one of the most valuable ventures globally management. What I have seen in the video can change my consumption patterns since there is hope for the Guatemalan farmers. If I know that whatever coffee I am purchasing is from a Guatemalan farmer that will benefit, then I will increase my uptake. This is supported by the fact that a number of small-scale farmers have formed the Manos Compasinas, which are Saccos that have led to the farmers selling their coffee at a better price (Kearney, 2018). One of the farmers has even attested to having an increase of 40 percent to their income once they stopped using middlemen and joined the Sacco. References Infobase (2004). Guatemala: The Human Price of Coffee. [Film]. Retrieved from https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?token=34472aid=18596plt=FODloid=0w=400h=340 Kearney, M. (2018).Reconceptualising the peasantry: anthropology in global perspective management. Routledge.