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bioRxiv · 10.1101/122846

The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) In Siwa Oasis (Egypt): How Ethnographic, Morphometric, And Genetic Analyses Together Explain The Local Agrobiodiversity

Battesti, V.·Gros-Balthazard, M.·Ogeron, C.·Ivorra, S.·Terral, J.-F.·Newton, C.
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Abstract

The agrobiodiversity of the Siwa oasis (in Egypt), located at the crossroads of ancient Trans-Saharan routes, is evaluated in this article focusing on the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), the oasis \"ecosystem engineer\". This assessment confronts different ontologies: diversity as expressed and maintained by the folk categorization system of the Siwa inhabitants (through the results of an ethnographical analysis) and diversity described by genetic sciences and a morphometric tool based on the size and geometry of the seeds. This work is also an opportunity to evaluate this tool intended for archaeobotany. Beyond a simple instrumentalization of one discipline by another, this study offers a space of mutual enrichment: on the relative importance of the feral and cultivated date palms, the local relevance of the concept of \"cultivar\" and the confirmation of the existence of \"ethnovarieties\".

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Battesti, V., Gros-Balthazard, M., Ogeron, C., Ivorra, S., Terral, J.-F., Newton, C.. 2017-03-31. The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) In Siwa Oasis (Egypt): How Ethnographic, Morphometric, And Genetic Analyses Together Explain The Local Agrobiodiversity. https://doi.org/10.1101/122846

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