Life's a peach: Fruit of immortality first farmed 7,500 years ago

Scientists have discovered that Chinese farmers have been cultivating peaches in the Yangtze valley for more than 7,500 years - making it one of the first plants domesticated by humans.

Scientists discover that peaches were first cultivated in China more than 7,500 years ago.

Peaches – whether eaten fresh from the tree or in treats like pie, jam and ice cream – have been enjoyed for a long, long time, but no one knew just for how long, until now.

Scientists say an analysis of well-preserved ancient peach pits traces the domestication of this sweet fruit back at least 7,500 years to China’s lower Yangtze River Valley in the vicinity of Shanghai. Indeed, peaches are among the first tree fruits to be domesticated as early human societies embraced horticulture, the study indicates.

“There is a long history of peach cultivation in China,” says one of the researchers, Yunfei Zheng of the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Relics and Archaeology in Hangzhou, China, noting that China still leads the world in peach production.

The researchers compared peach pits, also called stones, from six Chinese locations, covering a period of roughly 5,000 years. An analysis of pit sizes from the different locations in the Yangtze valley shows that peaches have been growing steadily larger as time passed, indicating that locals had been domesticating the fruit.

Peachy: Attendants carry trays of peaches as they prepare for a reception marking the 61st anniversary of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2010. – Reuters

It took perhaps 3,000 years before the domesticated peaches came to look like modern peaches. Peach pits, almost indistinguishable from today’s, date back about 4,300 to 5,300 years, the researchers say.

Gary Crawford, a University of Toronto Mississauga anthropology professor who took part in the study, published in the journal PLOS ONE on Aug 8, says there were many reasons why the peach tree was a good candidate for domestication.

It is relatively quick maturing – producing fruit in just two to three years – as well as being responsive to breeding for size and sweetness, among other qualities. “It’s also tasty and produces a lot of fruit. They are rich in vitamins A and C and contain a lot of calories per fruit,” adds Crawford. “The flavour is amazing. I like eating them raw mostly, but peach pies and peach crumble are right up there.”

Radiocarbon dating of the pits shows peaches split from their wild ancestors as long as 7,500 years ago. Peaches went from being small with very little flesh to the robust fruits like we see today. Crawford says the wild ancestor of the peach is apparently extinct.

A Chinese worker stacks boxes of peaches at the Gold River Natural Fruit Juices Company in Saule, Hebei Province in 1997. – Reuters

“In China, the peach is a symbol of long life and has a significant role to play in Chinese culture,” says Crawford, adding that conventional wisdom has been that the peach originated somewhere else in China.

It was a capable Chinese culture called the Kuahuqiao that seems to have begun peach domestication. Rice domestication was already under way in the area. “They were settled in small towns, had a broad spectrum of foods and other resources, had dugout canoes and were burning areas of the landscape for managing the local ecosystems,” says Crawford.

The Kuahuqiao also raised pigs, kept domesticated dogs, stored large amounts of acorns, used wooden tools and made high-quality wheel-turned pottery, adds Crawford. – Reuters