It is quite possible that Homo erectus , a species of hominids extinct about 70,000 years ago, liked peaches as much as we do and ate them in abundance. Fossils of these fruits from 2.5 million years ago have been discovered in southwestern China, proving that wild peach varieties were already implanted before the appearance of modern humans.
The discovery of eight fossilized fruits, well preserved and very similar in appearance to the current ones, is due to a team of paleobotanists from the University of Pennsylvania, led by Peter Wilf, among others. According to the study published in Scientific Reports , everything indicates that peaches evolved through natural selection before humans domesticated and cultivated this fruit , and waxed new varieties.
This is the first discovery of fossilized peaches, and sheds new light on their evolutionary history. According to Peter Wilf, “The peach is an important piece in the history of the feeding of our species, and it is worth understanding how it has come to evolve to its present state.
Knowing the origin of our resources allows us to make better use of them. “Another of those responsible for the study, Tao Su, a professor at Xishuangbanna Tropical Garden, discovered the fossils near his home in Kunming, southwest China, thanks to the Road construction works that brought to light late Pliocene rock strata. Among the strata were peaches. For Su, it is proof of the origin and evolution of this fruit, which was already thought to have come from China, but until now it did not have archaeological remains older than 8,000 years.
Wild specimens had never been found, so it was difficult to trace their history. This proves that some animals, probably primates, and early hominids ate the fruits and helped to disperse their seeds in very ancient times . It took thousands of years, after the appearance of modern humans, for the peach to be domesticated and cultivated.
Then humans have created new varieties and larger sizes, and we have taken the fruit throughout China, and to many other countries and continents. “Are the peaches we see today the result of artificial hybridization and agriculture since prehistoric times, or did they evolve through natural selection?” Wilf wonders. The answer is that both processes took place, and that China is still the most common origin. Probably the peach, it is a fruit with a great cultural load in the Asian country, and with many meanings: from a symbol of immortality for Taoist mythology to a sign of good luck and beauty.
