@article{fdi:010093627,
  title = {{D}ate{B}ack, an evolving open-access repository of {P}hoenix archaeobotanical data supporting new perspectives on the history of date palm cultivation},
  author = {{B}esseiche, {M}. and {C}hambraud, {E}. and {D}abrowski, {V}. and {B}randstatt, {E}. and {S}abot, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois and {B}ouchaud, {C}. and {G}ros-{B}althazard, {M}uriel},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he date palm ({P}hoenix dactylifera {L}.) has been a cornerstone of oasis agrosystems in {W}est {A}sia and {N}orth {A}frica for millennia, yet the timeline and processes of its domestication and spread remain poorly documented. {A}rchaeobotanical remains provide critical insights into its cultivation history, but no comprehensive review or dedicated platform currently exists to synthesize and analyze these data. {T}o address this gap, we conducted an extensive literature review and developed {D}ate-{B}ack (https://cloudapps.france-bioinformatique.fr/dateback), a digital open-access repository of archaeobotanical remains of {P}hoenix ({L}.) spp. {I}n its first version, {D}ate{B}ack records macroremains (e.g., seeds, fruits, stems, petioles) from prehistoric to {L}ate {A}ntiquity contexts in {S}outhwest and {S}outh {A}sia. {W}e assembled 154 entries from 110 archaeological sites across 123 references, along with a separate table of 74 radiocarbon-dated entries from 20 sites, refining chronological assessments. {M}ost entries comprise charred seeds (58.4%), with a smaller proportion of charred vegetative parts or desiccated remains. {O}ur findings highlight regional disparities in the distribution of remains, with concentration in the {L}evant and the {G}ulf region, while {S}audi {A}rabia and southern {I}ran are underrepresented. {T}here are also disparities in data reliability, particularly in dating resolution, which complicate the reconstruction of date cultivation history. {O}ur evidence shows that the earliest securely dated macro-botanical remains, indicating date consumption, appear in the {G}ulf region around 5000 {BCE}, while cultivation emerges later, first in southern {M}esopotamia and the northern {G}ulf in the 4th millennium {BCE}, then in eastern {A}rabia and the {I}ndus {V}alley in the 3rd millennium {BCE}. {T}he {L}evant presents challenges, with numerous presumed early finds but significant uncertainties, with secure evidence of cultivation only appearing by the late 2nd millennium {BCE}, as in northwestern {A}rabia, while in the southern {A}rabian {P}eninsula, it is not attested until the 1st millennium {BCE}. {B}y compiling and standardizing archaeobotanical data, {D}ate{B}ack facilitates advanced spatiotemporal analyses of date palm history and supports additional archaeobotany-based research including ancient {DNA} studies. {M}oreover, the platform is dynamic, scalable, and collaborative, enhancing data integration and refinement, with future expansions planned to include additional periods ({I}slamic era and beyond), geographic regions ({N}orth {A}frica), and new types of evidence, such as plant microremains and iconography.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}eer {C}ommunity {J}ournal},
  volume = {5},
  numero = {},
  pages = {e55 [28 p.]},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.24072/pcjournal.561},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010093627},
}