Pathways of diffusion of some plants and animals between Asia and the Mediterranean region

Abstract

Knowledge of the centres of origin of plants and animals has increasingly improved. However, it is much harder to identify the way through which plants and animals were distributed, by what roads and what means they arrived at one place or another, who brought them and who diffused them and why. Even for the most important and prestigious ones, many uncertainties persist. We cannot claim to resolve them, but we will present what is known to date. 2 In the old Eurasian world, three major centres of origin and domestication are known : in the Middle East, the area called the Fertile Crescent; in China, the Yang Tse Kiang valley; and in Pakistan, the Indus Valley. From those three centres, plants and animals were diffused to the west and to the east, as we shall see. 3 However, most plants and animals, which went from one cultural area to another, are related to population movements and thus to human history. Moreover, some are the result of a conscious, deliberate action of humans. We can note the example of Christopher Columbus, who discovered the marvellous corn in the islands of America, a staple food of the Caribbean; he brought it back in his second journey, in 1493.