The Bottle Gourd--Insane History of Possibly the First Domesticated Plant

A few days ago I was at a presentation by Dr. Glen Doran concerning his excavation of the Windover site near Titusville, FL--the largest deposit of ancient humans in the Western hemisphere.  It was engrossing to learn of the remains found at this site spectacularly preserved from over 7,000 years ago in a peat bog containing not just bones, but also delicate remains such as actual human brains, fabric and plant remains.

Something captured my attention and imagination.

One of those plants didn't belong there.

It was tens of thousands of miles away from where it should be.

The calabash, also known as bottle gourd is as ubiquitous as humans.  It's found on every continent and most well populated islands in Oceania.  Genetically it's most likely origins are in south Africa since this is the site of the greatest diversity (it's often true that diversity indicates provenience since it's been there longer and had more time to diversify).  While other origin explanations for the far-flung spread of bottle gourds certainly exist (like sea dispersal) one credible origin story is fascinating.

Historic Spread of the bottle gourd. 

Perhaps the bottle gourd is the first domesticated plant.  It's entirely possible that the first settlers of the Middle East and Asia brought it with them and that seeds were brought into the New World in the packs of the first few intrepid souls crossed the Bering Straits.  There's a bottle gourd found in a cave in Peru that may be as old as 13,000 years ago.   Can't you just see the first few wanderers that set out from Africa carrying calabash water jugs strapped over their sun scorched backs?  Can't you just see fur clad hunters trekking through snow over the Bering Straits after mammoth with gourds filled with folk medicinal herbs?  Can't you just see brave Polynesians sipping cool precious water from these vessels of life after many weeks at sea colonizing Hawaii and Oceania?  Can't you hear the earthen rhythms of this instrument played in every corner of the world?  It may have been one of the first instruments!  How many thirsty mouths have been quenched by this one fruit?!  How many sustaining foods stored in its safe recesses?  How many fire side ritual ceremonies performed to its hollow sounds?!

The significance is still felt today.  West Africans use these gourds for all kinds of containers and instruments.  Chinese use it for traditional medicine.  New Guineans use them for penis sheaths.  It's a traditional serving dish in Hawaii.  Incas passed symbolic bottle gourds from one generation to another.  Indians use the gourds to make the well known instrument called the sitar.  This is a fruit worthy of respect and learning more about.

Vid: Our Evolution 63 Million Years Condensed

Link: "Armed and Deadly: Shoulder, Weapons Key To Hunt"

http://www.wbur.org/npr/128830458

True Mythology

There are features and commonalities that are ubiquitous to all human societies.  By understanding these universals we can better understand what it means to be human as opposed to just being a particular ethnicity.  It may in fact teach us our 'true selves', the most fundamental, essential part of our identity.  One idea or theme that is common to all groups of mankind (woman kind) is a story of origins - an explanation of whence came humanity.

What can we learn from this?  Well, that we are not, not, not okay with having no past.  We demand a past so much so that we're willing to make one up or embrace even the most ludicrous methods of creation - mud, spit, rocks, spontaneous generation, birth, semen, sneezing, fire, reordering of chaos, divine fiat - all sorts of methods have been concocted as the means of creation...

 Because we just can't leave our past alone.

We demand to know where we come from and from that our identity and from that what life is all about.

I've found that true even with myself.

And I've found a powerful means of satisfying that craving.

It isn't new.

Or, original.

It's got the main elements of every creation story - drama, tragedy, comedy, passion, an obstacle to overcome, character development, etc.

But, boy do I wish we'd be more explicit about thinking of it this way.

The reason that I love biology so much is that to understand any branch of biology you have to understand the roots of that branch - it's evolutionary history.  Every kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus and species on down has something to tell us about ourselves - just one miniscule twig peering down over the entire tree. It either does this by further illuminating our own direct evolutionary path toward greater complexity and specificity or that they illustrate a similar path that just might be illustrative in understanding our own.

Is there value in thinking of biology anthropomorphically?

The research disadvantages and biases are apparent, but what about the didactic advantages?  From an educational stand point, isn't there something to be said to showing the relevance, the power, the humanity and 'creation myth' behind the last 4 billion years of life on Earth?  If we could do this more explicitly, more dynamically in the classroom wouldn't our students be more engaged, better informed and far more ready to absorb lofty and cumbersome ideas of science?  Wouldn't we be able to tap into a fundamentally human need?  I believe it would and that society would be better of because of it.

Teach the story.

Teach the drama.

Teach our place in the tragedy, comedy and plot line of evolutionary history.

Catch people up in the true myth of creation.

Vid: White Baby in Nigeria Born to Black Parents

Check out that blond haired, blue eyed Nigerian baby born from quite black parents.  If you're wondering, no, the baby is not an albino.  It's a mutant.  Maybe a mutant not to different from the one that started the caucasian European race.  Maybe...At least it's interesting to muse upon.

Evolution of Morality Video Part II of II by Lee Walton

Evolution of Morality Video Part I of II by Lee Walton