Abstract
This paper describes the successful extraction and sequencing of DNA from two loci in archaeological sorghum recovered from Qasr Ibrim in Egypt. The DNA from all the ancient races was identical, and showed no differences from modern sorghum. The longer sorghum has been in cultivation, the more diversity there should be in its DNA. The lack of any diversity, therefore, supports a recent domestication event in north-east Africa, in contrast to some claims suggesting much greater antiquity. The archaeological record is examined, and it is concluded that there is at present no unequivocal proof that sorghum cultivation must be earlier than the 1st millennium BC.
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Rowley-Conwy, P., Deakin, W., Shaw, C.H. (1999). Ancient DNA from Sorghum. In: van der Veen, M. (eds) The Exploitation of Plant Resources in Ancient Africa. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6730-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6730-8_5
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