The first archaeobotanical evidence of Lagenaria siceraria from the territory of Hungary: histology, phytoliths and (a)DNA

Abstract

Bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl.) is accepted as typical ‘New World’ cultivated economic plant. Currently, two subspecies are known: L. siceraria ((Molina) Standl.) ssp. siceraria has an African origin, whilst ssp. asiatica is recognized to be originating from Asian territories. It only seldom appears in European archaeological contexts, however finds from the Roman period appear sporadically. Part of a Late Middle Age (14th–15th century) settlement was excavated near the town of Pocspetri (SE Hungary) and one of the refuse pits contained waterlogged remains of several dozen dicot leaves and small sized branches (e.g. Populus sp.). In addition an entire dog skeleton and an apparently 10 cm by 7 cm bottle gourd pericarp fragment were also found in a well-preserved pot. This fortunate recovery accounts for the first evidence of bottle gourd in the archaeobotanical record of Hungary and Eastern Europe. Due to its favourable preservation not only precise morphological analysis could be undertaken, but ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction, PCR amplification and sequencing were used to identify more closely its possible origin and taxonomic relations. Different diagnostic phytolith morphotypes of the pericarp were matched to reference material phytolith assemblages. The macro-archaeobotanical record of the feature reflects the botanical elements of the natural environment of this medieval site and places the unique bottle gourd find in context.