Early evidence of avocado domestication from El Gigante Rockshelter, Honduras

Abstract

Avocado farming is a multibillion-dollar industry of global significance, but the avocado’s domestication history remains unclear. Wild avocados occur throughout the subtropics and neotropics from Mexico to South America and genetic studies suggest at least three independent episodes of domestication within this range. Well-dated archaeological avocado remains required to evaluate the complexities of the domestication process are scarce. Using an unparalleled sequence of radiocarbon-dated avocado remains we define a location of domestication in western Honduras, demonstrating a protracted process of arboriculture and selection for larger, more robust fruits during the last 11,000 y. An emphasis on arboriculture preceded heavy reliance upon staple grain cultivation, contrary to observations in Asia where tree domestication occurred well after annual crops were established. Keywords: arboriculture, avocados, domestication, agriculture