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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
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Plant Promoter Analysis: Identification and Characterization of Root Nodule Specific Promoter in the Common Bean
Published on: December 23, 2017
Early Cultivated Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) from an Intermontane Peruvian Valley.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 5, 1973
Summary
Fully domesticated common beans and lima beans were discovered in Peru
Area of Science:
- Archaeobotany
- Paleoethnobotany
- South American archaeology
Background:
- The domestication of Phaseolus beans is crucial to understanding early agricultural development in the Americas.
- Guitarrero Cave in Peru is a significant archaeological site with a long history of human occupation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report the earliest evidence of domesticated common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus).
- To establish the chronological framework for early bean cultivation in the Andean region.
Main Methods:
- Archaeological excavation of Guitarrero Cave.
- Radiocarbon dating (Carbon-14) of associated sediment layers (stratum II).
- Identification of domesticated bean species.
Main Results:
- Fully domesticated common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) were recovered from Guitarrero Cave.
- The earliest bean samples date from 7,680 +/- 280 to 10,000 +/- 300 years before present, found in stratum II.
Conclusions:
- This discovery pushes back the timeline for bean domestication in South America.
- Guitarrero Cave provides critical evidence for early agricultural practices in the Callejón de Huaylas region of Peru.
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