Chickpea domestication in the Neolithic Levant through the nutritional perspective |
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| Authors: | Zohar Kerem Simcha Lev-Yadun Avi Gopher Pnina Weinberg Shahal Abbo |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Hertzle Street, Rehovot 76100, Israel;2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Science Education, University of Haifa – Oranim, Tivon 36006, Israel;3. Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel;4. R.H. Smith Institute of Plant Science and Genetics in Agriculture, The Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Hertzle Street, Rehovot 76100, Israel |
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| Abstract: | An alternative approach to the process of selection and domestication of grain crops in early history based on nutritional value is proposed. Selection by a long trial and error process among a number of wild large seeded legumes gave rise to a nutritionally superior domesticated chickpea among the selected “founder crops” of the Neolithic Near Eastern agriculture. We found considerably higher free tryptophan levels in cultivated stocks (44 desi and 29 kabuli types from 25 countries; 1.10 mg/g seed dry weight), compared with the wild progenitor Cicer reticulatum (15 accessions; 0.33 mg/g seed dry weight). Dietary tryptophan determines brain serotonin synthesis, which in turn affects certain brain functions and human behaviour. We suggest that these nutritive facts may explain the decision of prehistoric farmers to choose this rare species and struggle to keep such an agronomically complicated crop under domestication. |
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| Keywords: | Chickpea Legumes Domestication Neolithic Nutritional |
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