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<p><i>Vicia faba</i> L. (faba or broad bean) was one of the first plants to be domesticated. Its cultivation provided a readily available high protein food, animal fodder and it acted as a natural fertilizer for the fields. These features, along with the ease with which it could be grown in rotation with cereals, have led to its widespread use for many millennia. The growing of the small fava bean started in the earliest phases of domestication and its size remained essentially the same for thousands of years. However, from the end of Late Antiquity (ca 700<span> ce</span>), there was an increase in the size of the bean, shown by some remains from the Mediterranean and Central Asia, which led to the larger seeded <i>V. faba</i> var. <i>equina</i> (horse bean) which has been found in Sicily (Italy). Subsequently, in the Middle Ages (ca 1150–1250 <span>ce</span>), there was a new phase of breeding improved varieties of the bean in Apulia (southern Italy) that led to the even larger-seeded faba cultivar, <i>V. faba</i> var. <i>major</i> (broad bean). The purpose of this study is to substantiate this picture with morphometric analyses of charred remains of <i>V. faba</i> collected from various archaeological sites in south-east Italy, dated to a range of periods, and by comparing them to modern reference material.</p>

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Morphometrics shed new light on the first archaeobotanical evidence for the cultivation and breeding of Vicia faba var. equina (horse bean) and var. major (broad bean) in medieval southern Italy

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月23日

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  • Anna Maria Grasso,
  • Paul Arthur,
  • Girolamo Fiorentino

摘要

Vicia faba L. (faba or broad bean) was one of the first plants to be domesticated. Its cultivation provided a readily available high protein food, animal fodder and it acted as a natural fertilizer for the fields. These features, along with the ease with which it could be grown in rotation with cereals, have led to its widespread use for many millennia. The growing of the small fava bean started in the earliest phases of domestication and its size remained essentially the same for thousands of years. However, from the end of Late Antiquity (ca 700 ce), there was an increase in the size of the bean, shown by some remains from the Mediterranean and Central Asia, which led to the larger seeded V. faba var. equina (horse bean) which has been found in Sicily (Italy). Subsequently, in the Middle Ages (ca 1150–1250 ce), there was a new phase of breeding improved varieties of the bean in Apulia (southern Italy) that led to the even larger-seeded faba cultivar, V. faba var. major (broad bean). The purpose of this study is to substantiate this picture with morphometric analyses of charred remains of V. faba collected from various archaeological sites in south-east Italy, dated to a range of periods, and by comparing them to modern reference material.