Theories on the geographical origin of cannabis species

- Categories : Culture , Seeds and varieties

In the evolutionary sense of the species, cannabis has been very successful. It has spread throughout the planet and has flourished in the earliest latitudes. Cannabis is a plant with great adaptability to diverse environments and this aspect, together with the intervention of man, has made it reach almost all corners of the world. The many uses of cannabis and its derivatives did not go unnoticed by early humans. Industrial hemp seeds traveled through the temperate regions of northern Eurasia, and later to the Americas. Easy to grow, industrial hemp produces a strong and durable fiber. Hemp, its derivatives and its seeds are thus spread throughout the rest of the annexed territories. On the other hand, narcotic cannabis seeds appear in central and southern Eurasia in semi-tropical latitudes and are valued for their high psychoactive effect and high resin production. If we talk about the evolution of the species, without a doubt, the human being is the greatest promoter of this. The dispersal of the seeds in other environments and the selection of man have made the evolution of cannabis change a lot over the years. Human beings have advanced by selecting different varieties according to their textile, nutritional or medical needs.

Theories about the geographical origin of cannabis species

There are three different possible hypotheses regarding the place of origin, formulated by three researchers who tried to explain the origin of the species. The three proposals are:

  • China (Yangtze and Yelow rivers) by researcher Li (1974b).
  • Central Asia (from the Caucasus to the Altai Mountains) by Candolle (1882).
  • South Asia (Himalayan Mountains and Hindu Kush) by Sharma (1979).

It should be taken into account that Central Asia and South Asia were large producers of hashish, consolidating the establishment of these varieties in the area.

China

The first archaeological evidence of the use of cannabis fiber comes from China and dates from 4200 to 1150 BC. Scholars found images of hemp on ceramic pieces. The oldest piece of hemp found is a piece of hemp clothing dated between 300 and 250 BC (Li 1974b), discovered in an ancient tomb of the Z'ou dynasty, opened in 1957 DC Hemp fibers also appear on an ancient piece of paper found in another Chinese tomb dated between 140 and 87 BC that included several, including hemp seeds . It is known that in many cultures the dead were buried with their most beloved belongings or with what they might need in another life.

Central Asia

De Candolle, supported by the work of other researchers, assumes instead that the geographical origin of cannabis is in Central Asia. The Takla Makan desert region in central Asia provided the ideal climate for the rapid evolution of plants such as cannabis, with an annual flowering and a separation of the sexes in two individuals. The great winds of the area helped the dissemination of pollen. If cannabis had originated in Central Asia, it would be in an idyllic situation for its proliferation and dispersal in three directions: east to China, south to India and west to Europe. The famous naturalist Nicolai Vavilov studied the diversity of cannabis in Central Asia first-hand and made interesting claims. In 1931, he hypothesized that cannabis originated near Samarkan, in northern Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mountains. Nicolai leaves his first texts on the short size of the Afghan plants and their short distance between nodes, as well as a much darker color of the seeds with a more marked brindle. In this regard, he described what we know today as Cannabis Indica Afghan Variety . He also described a second variety very similar to the first but with a much longer and pale colored marijuana seed, which he called Cannabis Indica Kafiristánica Variety . Thus, Nicolai states that varieties from Afghanistan are totally different from European and Asian varieties and should be considered different varieties. In 1929 he visited the Chinese Turkestan area in search of evidence to support his hypotheses. This area, today Xinjiang. Province of China, delimited to the north and northwest with the Himalayas and Tibet, to the southwest with Tien Shan Pountains and to the northeast with the Hindu Kush mountains. In addition, it is separated from Europe by mountains and from the rest of China by the Takla Makan desert. Nicolai makes clear that numerous valleys of cannabis sativa grow in this area . In conclusion, Nicolai Vavilov considered that all the rest of the cannabis was exported from this area to China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

South Asia

The great diversity of cannabis strains and their uses in northern India and Nepal, at the foot of the Himalayas, means that this region was not only one of the first to widely use cannabis, but the location of its first growth . Linneaus, who initially called cannabis sativa, when he established the binomial system of scientific nomenclature, believed that cannabis sativa was native to India. However, he never collected specimens from this area and the notes on his herbarium sheets are ambiguous. (Shultes 1974) Sharma argued that Cannabis originated in the valleys along the slopes of the southern Himalayas, from Kashmir to Nepal, and from Bhutan to Burma. The verification of diversity of phenotypes in the same genetic line was one of its main conclusions. According to Sharma, it is highly likely that Muslim traders transported cannabis westward through the Elburz Mountains of Persia, to the Midwest. Later he traveled with the merchants by sea to Africa and to the west and southeast of Asia. Sharma also states that varieties that come from higher altitudes have a better fiber quality and that those that grow at a lower latitude have a greater narcotic potential.

Conclusions

The high mountains of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush are a barrier to the dispersal of plants and animals and lie between the two origins of cannabis, proposed by De Candole (1931) and Sharma (1979). It is clear that the origin of Cannabis is located in Central Asia or India, but China and India would be the first to domesticate it. Central Asia may not be the origin of this species, but it is certainly the place with the oldest written information.

Bibliography: HASHISH by Robert Connel Clarke

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