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Cotton seeds. Top: Charred seeds from the Real Alto site. Bottom: Uncharred, comparative specimens. The circular scar on top of each archaeological specimen corresponds to the area where the tuft of hair is attached on the modem seed. The linear feature visible on the left-hand comparative specimen was preserved in a number of archaeological specimens. Scale is in millimeters.
Source publication
Seeds identified asGossypiumbarbadense, South American cotton, have been recovered from the Real Alto site on the Coast of Ecuador in contexts14C dated 35003000 B.C. The oldest date previously reported is 2500 B.C. for coastal Peru.
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In cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), it is hard to determine the exact date when reproductive growth ceases on the basis of field observations, as compared to more visible factors such as the onset of flowering or boll opening. It is, however, essential to characterize the growth cycle in order to determine what varieties are suitable for planting in di...
Citations
... Seeds identified as G. barbadense were collected at an archaeological site in Real Alto (Guayas province), the cradle of Valdivia culture (3500 BC-1500 BC) in southeastern Ecuador (Damp and Pearsall 1994;Ayala-Mora 2008); radiocarbon studies of these seeds determined the age of 3000-3500 BC. Impressions of cotton weaving, made on a loom, have been found on pottery from the Valdivia culture, dating to 3092 BC, possibly older than findings in Peru (Marcos 1973). ...
Cotton (Gossypium spp.) contains more than 45 diploid (2n = 26) and at least five allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 52) species. The five allotetraploid (genome A and D) lineages that belong to the primary gene pool are indigenous to the Americas, including G. barbadense, G. hirsutum, G. mustelinum (Northeast Brazil), G. darwinii endemic to the Galapagos Islands, and G. tomentosum Nutall ex Seemann endemic to the Hawaii Islands. Recently, two other species, G. ekmanianum and G. stephensii, have been characterized. This review attempts to describe the historical context and importance of the cotton economy in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador during the pre and post-colonial and mention the status of conservation and characterization of cotton germplasm, and current national access to these genetic resources in each country. The document presents information about cotton agriculture and manufacture and its use by indigenous communities for clothing, ritual, and medicinal purposes, where G. barbadense was the only species used at the time. Although in the last century, upland commercial cultivars industrially belonging to the species G. hirsutum replaced the native cotton species in these four countries. Currently, native cotton species are maintained and conserved in national genebanks, although limited information is available, and more research is necessary to identify attributes that allow the countries to move forward in plant breeding initiatives. In terms of legislation, it was found that the four countries have legislation to regulate the processes of access to genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and the distribution of benefits for their conservation and use. Up to now, this information for the four South American countries is dispersed and generally included in publications of a varied nature such as scientific and technical.
... Location of the earliest archaeological cotton remains in South America, some main contemporaneous archaeological sites along the Pacific coast and the presumed wild range of G. barbadense and its hypothetical domestication center. Sources: Stephens and Moseley, 1974;Damp and Pearsall, 1994;Dillehay et al., 2007Dillehay et al., , 2012Piperno, 2011;Splitstoser et al., 2016;Beresford-Jones et al., 2018. Cotton remains associated with human settlements in South America recovered in coastal central and northern Peru and coastal Ecuador were dated to the beginning of the 8 th millennium BP (Splitstoser et al., 2016), that is, as old as the oldest evidence of cotton fiber use in the Old World (Moulherat et al., 2002). ...
... The synthesis of archaeological studies (see above) indicates that G. barbadense probably was the species used first for textiles among American cotton species. Wild G. barbadense plants are relatively rare, but still likely occur in the region surrounding the Guayaquil Gulf in southwest Ecuador and northwestern Peru, along with the more common dooryard and feral arborescent plants Damp and Pearsall, 1994;Westengen et al., 2005). Archaeological plant remains found on the coast and in valleys of this region show primitive morphological characteristics, small "bolls" (colloquial term for the botanically correct "capsules") and more or less brownish lint, indicating they corresponded to early domesticated forms, from which it was concluded that original domestication was initiated in sites around there (Hutchinson et al., 1947;Stephens, 1973;Westengen et al., 2005;Wendel et al., 2010). ...
... In Real Alto ca. 6,350 YBP cotton remains were considered clear signs of cotton domestication (Damp and Pearsall, 1994). In Huaca Prieta and the valleys of Nanchoc and Zaña, elaborated cotton textiles were dated to 6,700 to 6,000 YBP and cotton cultivation there can be assumed as these places are unfavorable to spontaneous cotton populations (Beresford-Jones et al., 2018). ...
Gossypium, the cotton genus, includes ∼50 species distributed in tropical and sub-tropical regions of all continents except Europe. Here we provide a synopsis of the evolutionary history of Gossypium and domestication of the American allopolyploid species, integrating data from fundamental taxonomic investigations, biogeography, molecular genetics, phylogenetic analysis, and archaeology. These diverse sources of information provide a temporal and phylogenetic perspective on diversification among the diploids and on polyploid formation, uncover multiple previously cryptic interspecific hybridizations, clarify and contribute to the taxonomy of the genus, and offer a firm foundation for understanding parallel domestications in Mesoamerica and South America, which led to the globally important cotton crop species G. barbadense and G. hirsutum. Gossypium thus offers a testimonial example of the importance and utility of fundamental botanical discovery combined with modern technological capabilities to generate genomic insights into evolutionary history. We also review the current state of our knowledge regarding the archaeological history of cotton domestication and diffusion in the Americas, a seemingly unlikely story entailing parallel domestication origins and parallel directional selection tracing to 8,000 (G. barbadense) and 5,500 (G. hirsutum) years ago, transforming two geographically isolated wild short-day perennial shrubs having small capsules and seeds covered by short, tan-colored epidermal trichomes into modern daylength-neutral annuals bearing abundant, fine, strong white fibers. This dual domestication was followed several millennia later by unintentional and more recently intentional interspecific introgression, as the two species came into contact following their initial domestication in different hemispheres. Thus, the cycle of species divergence and biological reunion was reiterated, this time at the allopolyploid level. Understanding this evolutionary history is vitally important to our understanding of the genomic architecture of the world’s most important fiber plant and contributes substantially to our understanding of general biological principles.
... The earliest evidence for the use of G. barbadense cotton all comes from the north coast of Peru and Ecuador: whence the plant is thereby presumed to have been first cultivated (see above and Piperno 2011). Raw cotton remains associated with human settlement have been directly dated to ca. 5500 Cal BP at Real Alto, Ecuador (Damp and Pearsall 1994); ca. 6100 Cal BP at CA-09-71, Nanchoc Valley, north coast Peru (Dillehay 2011, 313); and dated by association to 7800 Cal BP CA-09-77, Nanchoc Valley (Rossen 2011, 187). ...
G. barbadense, indigenous to South America's tropical lowlands has an unparallel legacy for the story of modern textile industries and fishing economies worldwide; yet long before being largely cultivated around the world, G. barbadense had first become a critical textile material-and likely cultivated 6301-6133 cal. yrs. BP among coastal hunter-gatherers on the Pacific coast. Researchers have long hypothesised about the critical role of cotton in the development of the early subsistence strategies of South America's coastal communities. For instance, Moseley's maritime foundation model (1975) epitomised the idea that cotton and gourds were the basis from which complex technologies were produced (e.g., large-scale fishing nets), and the existing maritime economy was enhanced. In this paper, we conduct a review of archaeological and botanical evidence for cotton domestication in South America. To do so, we compile data from molecular genetics of Gossypium (Westengen et al. 2005; Grover et al. 2022; Viot and Wendel 2023), to Stephens and Moseley's seminal works (Stephens 1975, Stephens, and Moseley 1973), Damp and Pearsall's (1994) archaeobotanical analysis and Piperno's model (2011) on plant cultivation and domestication in the Americas. We critically analyse the compiled evidence to show how cotton cultivation triggered a turning point in the social dynamics of coastal hunter-gatherers by causing a shift from an immediate-return (e.g., wild-gathered plants) to a delayed-return (e.g., sown, watered, and harvested G. barbadense) economy. In doing so, we emphasize how relevant cotton cultivation was for the formation of large-scale communities motivating further social cohesion and wider economic links among hunter-gatherer groups on the Pacific coast. Finally, we argue that cotton-as a textile crop, is a unique example to interrogate the link between textile technologies and the concept of 'complexity' among the early coastal communities of South America.
... Perhaps, this is not sufficient evidence to argue for the use of cotton nets at Quebrada Jaguay and the Ring site, but it does raise questions regarding the types of fishing strategies, technologies, and the raw materials of plant fibre artefacts used at these early Preceramic sites. The sole direct evidence for the use of cotton has been found at CA-09-71 Uni/Site in the Zana Valley in northern Peru, dated between 6278 and 5948 cal BP (Dillehay et al. 2007), indicating the use and early domestication of cotton on the north coast of Peru (Damp and Pearsall 1994). Yet, cotton as raw material represents only the culmination of a long trajectory of development of sophisticated fibre technologies, based first on gathered wild plants used for fishing nets and lines (Beresford-Jones et al. 2018). ...
This paper investigates plant fibre production on the south coast of Peru by studying plant fibre remains using archaeobotanical and structural analytical techniques. The archaeobotanical method refers to the identification of bast fibres using microscopic analysis of plant tissues. This study uses a reference collection of modern plants to complement the analysis of the archaeological bast fibres. The structural analysis refers to technical data regarding the techniques and technical characteristics of the plant fibre artefacts (thread and fabric structure). The study presents the preliminary analytical results of the plant fibre assemblages from two Middle Preceramic sites on the Río Ica estuary on the south coast of Peru: La Yerba II (7571–6674 cal BP) and La Yerba III (6485–5893 cal BP). By studying these assemblages, I argue that gathered wild plants underpinned the production of fibres used in gathering and fishing technologies during the Middle Preceramic in the south coast of Peru.
The combination of archaeobotanical and structural data provides new insights into the social practices of the coastal hunter-gatherers in the south of Peru. This study proposes new frames of interpretation of coastal hunter-gatherers that integrate aspects of coastal lifeways with craft production. I will finish by introducing a dance metaphor to explain not only technical gestures but also coastal landscapes and social organisation as essential elements of Preceramic bast fibre production.
... Valdivia (Damp & Pearsall, 1994) (Figura 88); no obstante, estas pruebas no son suficientes para afirmar que en las primeras fases de la sociedad Valdivia la producción de algodón haya sido muy significativa debido a que estas fases de la cultura Valdivia encajan dentro de los inicios de la ...
Primeras evidencias de deformación craneal intencional durante las fases II y III de la cultura Valdivia (c. 3,300-2,400 a.C.) en el sitio Real Alto Proyecto Integrador Previo a la obtención del Título de: Licenciado en Arqueología Presentado por:
... El investigador, mediante la revisión de la información etnohistórica y diversos datos arqueológicos, plantea que los navegantes de la costa del Ecuador mantuvieron por más de cinco milenios, el monopolio sobre las materias primas para la construcción de embarcaciones para la navegación en mar abierto. Asimismo, por medio de la revisión de la evidencia sobre los hallazgos de semillas de algodón en Real Alto (Damp y Pearsall 1994), las improntas de tejidos de algodón hechos en telar vertical encontrados en la arcilla no cocida y en vasijas Valdivia, más la gran cantidad de contrapesos de husos (torteros); propone que la tecnología de los paños tejidos y cosidos, utilizados en las velas de las embarcaciones existieron desde la fase 2a de Valdivia en Real Alto. ...
... Evidencia en forma de fitolitos y granos de almidón sugirió el cultivo de maíz, lerén, y otros cultivos. La evidencia macrobotánica consiste en semillas de frejoles (Canavalia plagiosperma; Damp et al. 1981Damp et al. , 1987, algodón (Gossypium Valdivia, una Sociedad Neolítica: Nuevos aportes a su conocimiento barbadense; Damp y Pearsall 1994), frutas, palmas, y tal vez yuca. Sin embargo, grandes cantidades de concha están presentes en las zonas de basura de la ocupación Valdivia Temprano en Real Alto, que se encuentra a algunos kilómetros del manglar moderno más cercano, pero en la proximidad de un manglar viejo en el cauce del Río Verde. ...
... Sin embargo, el contexto para estos especímenes dentro de los primeros estratos de Valdivia en ambos sitios es tenue. Se recuperaron restos macrobotánicos de ambos sitios y se identificaron como frijoles Canavalia (Canavalia plagiosperma) y algodón (Gossypium barbadense) (Damp et al. 1981;Damp y Pearsall 1994). El cribado seco a escala fina de los depósitos de Valdivia Temprano de Real Alto produjo más de 300 muestras botánicas que se han identificado como frijoles, algodón, frutas, tubérculos y, posiblemente, una semilla de yuca. ...
While Valdivia Phase 1 is conventionally accepted as dating to 4400 – 3400 BCE, with a Phase1a at 4400–3800 BCE, and a Phase 1b at 3800–3400 BCE, there are grounds for suggesting that this model needs to be revised. Accordingly, we first assess the radiocarbon dates from Real Alto and Loma Alta that were used to define Valdivia 1a, and find that these are more likely to be related to Late Archaic occupations of those sites, that there is no evidence for a Valdivia Phase 1a, and that Valdivia Phase 1 will then actually have begun at 3800 BCE, the date formerly ascribed to the start of Phase 1b. Second, after describing the contexts underlying Valdivia deposits at Salango and Valdivia, we use these and other data now available to outline a widespread occupation of the central coast of Ecuador during a Late Archaic period dating to 5300–3800 BCE. Third, we describe new evidence of San Pedro pottery at Salango and comment on current problems with San Pedro chronology and definition of its relation with Early Valdivia.
... El investigador, mediante la revisión de la información etnohistórica y diversos datos arqueológicos, plantea que los navegantes de la costa del Ecuador mantuvieron por más de cinco milenios, el monopolio sobre las materias primas para la construcción de embarcaciones para la navegación en mar abierto. Asimismo, por medio de la revisión de la evidencia sobre los hallazgos de semillas de algodón en Real Alto (Damp y Pearsall 1994), las improntas de tejidos de algodón hechos en telar vertical encontrados en la arcilla no cocida y en vasijas Valdivia, más la gran cantidad de contrapesos de husos (torteros); propone que la tecnología de los paños tejidos y cosidos, utilizados en las velas de las embarcaciones existieron desde la fase 2a de Valdivia en Real Alto. ...
... Evidencia en forma de fitolitos y granos de almidón sugirió el cultivo de maíz, lerén, y otros cultivos. La evidencia macrobotánica consiste en semillas de frejoles (Canavalia plagiosperma; Damp et al. 1981Damp et al. , 1987, algodón (Gossypium Valdivia, una Sociedad Neolítica: Nuevos aportes a su conocimiento barbadense; Damp y Pearsall 1994), frutas, palmas, y tal vez yuca. Sin embargo, grandes cantidades de concha están presentes en las zonas de basura de la ocupación Valdivia Temprano en Real Alto, que se encuentra a algunos kilómetros del manglar moderno más cercano, pero en la proximidad de un manglar viejo en el cauce del Río Verde. ...
... Sin embargo, el contexto para estos especímenes dentro de los primeros estratos de Valdivia en ambos sitios es tenue. Se recuperaron restos macrobotánicos de ambos sitios y se identificaron como frijoles Canavalia (Canavalia plagiosperma) y algodón (Gossypium barbadense) (Damp et al. 1981;Damp y Pearsall 1994). El cribado seco a escala fina de los depósitos de Valdivia Temprano de Real Alto produjo más de 300 muestras botánicas que se han identificado como frijoles, algodón, frutas, tubérculos y, posiblemente, una semilla de yuca. ...
... Archaeobotanical and faunal remains were recovered systematically. Phytolith samples, flotation-recovered and in situ macroremains from the 1974-1975 excavations, and in situ and fine-sieved samples from Damp's excavations were analyzed by Pearsall (1979, 2003Damp and Pearsall 1994;Damp et al. 1981). Faunal remains recovered in quarter-inch mesh excavation screens during the 1974-1975 excavations were later analyzed by Byrd (1996) and Stahl (2003;Stahl andZeidler 1988, 1990). ...
We investigated foodways at Real Alto, an early Formative (4400–1800 BC) Valdivia site in coastal Ecuador, using starch and phytoliths recovered from 50 stone tools from three residential and two ceremonial structures, as well as 46 human dental calculus samples, to explore how food reflects the social relationships and economy of the community. Maize was important in daily meals and ceremonial foods by the Middle Valdivia (2800–2400 BC), but it was only one component of an agricultural system that included yuca, arrowroot, llerén , canna, yam, jackbean, squash, gourd, chili, and cotton. Ceremonial and everyday foods at Real Alto did not differ: actions surrounding food were both domestic and ceremonial, depending on context. Households had equal access to annual crops and to root-tubers with longer growing seasons. Gelatinized starch was commonly recovered on tools, indicating the processing of cooked foods. Dental calculus residues confirmed common consumption of cooked foods, fruits, and root-tubers. Cultivating crops with different water and growing season requirements necessitated diverse practices, potentially including selection of short-season varieties, hand watering, and growing crops over multiple rainy seasons. The latter two practices required increased labor inputs: access to labor was likely a key element supporting the nascent social hierarchy that emerged by the Middle Valdivia.
... Archaeological evidence of G. barbadense in Real Alto of Coastal Ecuador dates from 3500-1500 B.C. and is associated with the Valdvia culture (Table 2.) [7]. Early Valdiva cotton was recovered from the Real Alto's domestic area within hearths, house floors and other features within the household [7]. ...
... Archaeological evidence of G. barbadense in Real Alto of Coastal Ecuador dates from 3500-1500 B.C. and is associated with the Valdvia culture (Table 2.) [7]. Early Valdiva cotton was recovered from the Real Alto's domestic area within hearths, house floors and other features within the household [7]. The macrobotanical remains uncovered through the excavation consisted of 133 carbonized cottonseed fragments or whole seeds; and when compared to 11 modern samples, showed the morphological characteristics of G. barbadense [7]. ...
... Early Valdiva cotton was recovered from the Real Alto's domestic area within hearths, house floors and other features within the household [7]. The macrobotanical remains uncovered through the excavation consisted of 133 carbonized cottonseed fragments or whole seeds; and when compared to 11 modern samples, showed the morphological characteristics of G. barbadense [7]. The evidence from Real Alto indicates that G. barbadense had likely been domesticated even earlier in southwest Ecuador [7]. ...
This paper outlines some of the biological differences between the wild and domesticated Gossypium sp., and covers some of the earliest archaeological evidence of cotton domestication in both the Old and New Worlds. The goal of this paper is to further understand the interrelationship between indigenous domesticators and the cotton plant.
... The second phase of this development has been associated with the Indus Valley at the advent of the textile industry, where numerous further dispersions had occurred; including eastern pathways to East Asia and China, and western pathways to West Africa and Egypt [21]. Although researchers still debate on the early geographical origin of G. arboreum; some suggesting that the Indus Valley was origin of its domestication -yet, as previously noted -an identification of the cotton fibers found in 7 Mohenjo-daro has not been made to the species level, thus not permitting a definitive point of origin [10]. However, the early identification of G. arboreum has been made in Afyeh, in Egyptian Nubia at 2600-2400 BC, and at Pradesh (Southern India) at 2800-1200 BC [5; 8]. ...
... Archaeological evidence of G. barbadense in Real Alto of Coastal Ecuador dates from 3500-1500 B.C. and is associated with the Valdvia culture (Table 2.) [7]. Early Valdiva cotton was recovered from the Real Alto's domestic area within hearths, house floors and other features within the household [7]. ...
... Archaeological evidence of G. barbadense in Real Alto of Coastal Ecuador dates from 3500-1500 B.C. and is associated with the Valdvia culture (Table 2.) [7]. Early Valdiva cotton was recovered from the Real Alto's domestic area within hearths, house floors and other features within the household [7]. The macrobotanical remains uncovered through the excavation consisted of 133 carbonized cottonseed fragments or whole seeds; and when compared to 11 modern samples, showed the morphological characteristics of G. barbadense [7]. ...
This paper outlines some of the biological differences between the wild and domesticated Gossypium sp., and covers some of the earliest archaeological evidence of cotton domestication in both the Old and New Worlds. The goal of this paper is to further understand the interrelationship between indigenous domesticators and the cotton plant.
