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. 2024 Sep 20;15(1):8245.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52597-8.

The initial spread of peaches across eastern North America was structured by Indigenous communities and ecologies

Jacob Holland-Lulewicz  1 , Victor Thompson  2   3 , Amanda Roberts Thompson  2 , RaeLynn Butler  4 , Dario J Chavez  5 , Jay Franklin  6 , Turner Hunt  4 , Mark Williams  2 , John Worth  7
Affiliations

The initial spread of peaches across eastern North America was structured by Indigenous communities and ecologies

Jacob Holland-Lulewicz et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

We conduct a synthetic archaeological and ethnohistoric dating program to assess the timing and tempo of the spread of peaches, the first Eurasian domesticate to be adopted across Indigenous eastern North America, into the interior American Southeast by Indigenous communities who quickly "Indigenized" the fruit. In doing so, we present what may be the earliest absolute dates for archaeological contexts containing preserved peach pits in what is today the United States in the early to mid-16th century. Along with our broader chronological modeling, these early dates suggest that peaches were likely in the interior prior to permanent Spanish settlement in the American Southeast and that peaches spread independently of interactions with Spanish colonizers. We further argue that that eventual spread of peaches was structured exclusively by Indigenous communities and the ecologies produced through long-term Indigenous land management and land use practices, highlighting and centering the agency of Indigenous societies in the socioecological process of colonization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Spatial distribution of AMS, archeological, and ethnohistoric data.
A Map of archeological sites pre-dating the 18th century that have yielded charred or preserved peach pits, sites from which peach pits have been directly dated via AMS, and areas or sub-regions where archeological evidence for peaches is limited but can be understood from ethnohistoric accounts. Information on numbered sites is presented in Supplemental Data 1 of the Supplementary Information. B Expanded map of Oconee Valley. C Hypothesized spread of peaches across the American Southeast. A table of site names and information along with all AMS, archeological, and ethnohistoric data and information for each individual site used to create the dispersal model are all included as Supplemental Data 1. Basemap of elevation data was downloaded from the publicly available USGS National Map (https://www.usgs.gov/the-national-map-data-delivery).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Bayesian chronological model.
Bayesian chronological model of AMS dated peach pits from the Oconee Valley, Georgia (left). This is the primary, simplest model for the timing of peach introduction to the Oconee Valley. All AMS measurements directly on peach pits were incorporated into a single, simple phase model to yield a modeled start date for the arrival of peaches. Individual numbers in parentheses after the sample ID correspond with sites listed in Supplementary Data 1 and presented in Fig. 1A. Alternative models (including expanded, individual site-based models) that yield the same results as the primary model are presented as Supplemental Information. Full methodological details for both the primary and alternative models are included in the methods section below and as Supplementary Information. Photographs of directly dated charred peach pits from archeological sites in the Oconee Valley, Georgia (right). Letters (A–D) are used to signify which dates in the model are associated with the peach pits in each photograph.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Lindsey site (9MG231) map.
A Map depicting the general layout of the settlement pattern at Lindsey, showing the locations of excavated postholes and samples dated via AMS. B Bayesian chronological model of AMS dates from Lindsey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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