Abstract

The intimate relationship between humans and crop plants means that traces of human cultural practices become embedded in the crop genome. Aspects of past cultures not documented in written records can consequently be studied with genetic analyses of archaeological crop remains. Such analyses, however, come with their own particular set of challenges, not the least in finding suitable material to study. Some of the best preserved prehistoric crop remains in the world can be found in the mountains of Gran Canaria, and Jenny Hagenblad has used these to study the effects of societal upheavals.

Five hundred years ago, with the Hispanic conquest of the archipelago, the Canary Islands went through a rapid transition from neolithic isolation to a globalization hub, with dramatic consequences for the insular society. Jenny will give examples of how the genetic analysis of crops and crop remains have illuminated both the islands early prehistory, the agrarian consequences of the Hispanic conquest, and an influence of Canarian agriculture reaching well beyond the archipelago.

Composite image: Jenny Hagenblad.

 Jenny Hagenblad is an associate senior professor at the Linköping University.
Her main scientific interest lies in analysing genetic data with evolutionary and population genetic methods to learn more about the evolutionary history of species.
As the study system, Jenny uses crop plants, which are not only of the utmost
importance to human sustenance but have also experienced very rapid evolution since their domestication.