Carthamus species in the ancient Near East and south-eastern Europe: archaeobotanical evidence for their distribution and use as a source of oil

Abstract

We present an overview of archaeobotanical Carthamus spp. finds from Neolithic to medieval sites in the Near East and adjacent areas. A particular focus is put on the cultivated form of the genus. Safflower appears first in a number of early Bronze Age (3000 B.C.) sites in northern and central Syria. From there it apparently spread to Egypt, the Aegean and south-eastern Europe. The Near Eastern Bronze Age evidence shows a striking exclusiveness in the distribution patterns of safflower and flax, with flax being restricted to Levantine and Iranian sites. This may reflect the contrasting ecological requirements of the two crops, with safflower being well adapted to drought and salinity and thus to arid conditions. At the same time the geographically complementary evidence may indicate a similar use of the two crops and most probably suggests that the safflower was also used for oil almost from the beginning of its cultivation.

Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in a Global Reference Collection of 531 Accessions of Carthamus tinctorius L. (Safflower) Using AFLP Markers

“…Its use as an oilseed crop was considered to be relatively recent beginning from the first half of the twentieth century (Dajue and Mündel 1996). However, archaeo-botanical evidence suggests its cultivation as a major oil crop in the Near East dating back to the Bronze Age (Marinova and Riehl 2009). It has also been used as a platform for production of plant-derived pharmaceuticals (McPherson et al 2009;Flider 2013;Carlsson et al 2014), biofuels, and as a source of industrial oil (Velasco et al 2005;Ilkılıç et al 2011).…”

Total Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Capacity and Antifungal Activity of Extracts of Carthamus tenuis and Cephalaria joppensis

“…Despite the fact that authors of reference 17 underestimated the global total number of Carthamus (25 instead of 37), and they concluded that this genus is not suitable as oil source, they actually contradict archeological evidences that this genus was used for oil production in the near east. 44 The use of this oil remains unclear.…”

Genetic Diversity, Population Structure and Marker-Trait Association for 100-Seed Weight in International Safflower Panel Using SilicoDArT Marker Information

“…Safflower accessions from the Mediterranean region clustered together and revealed their genetic similarity, and possibly shared a similar parentage. Clustering of the safflower accessions from Mediterranean countries proposes this region as a center of safflower domestication, with Syria having a predominant role [8]. Population B clustered safflower accessions from the South Asian countries, i.e., Afghanistan, Iran and Bangladesh, but not Turkey.…”

“…Carthamus species have been utilized since the pre-historic period as its archeological remains were found at sites in Syria since 7500 BC. Safflower was distributed from its center of domestication (i.e., Syria) to linked regions comprising Egypt, the Aegean region and southern Europe [8].…”