Elsevier

Journal of Ethnopharmacology

Volume 113, Issue 3, 25 September 2007, Pages 409-420
Journal of Ethnopharmacology

The discovery of Capparis spinosa L. (Capparidaceae) in the Yanghai Tombs (2800 years b.p.), NW China, and its medicinal implications

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2007.06.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Seed clumps of Capparis spinosa L. together with shoots, leaves and fruits of Cannabis sativa L. were unearthed in the Yanghai Tombs, Turpan District in Xinjiang, China. This is the first time that plant remains of Capparis spinosa have been discovered in China and the eastern part of Central Asia. Based on the joint occurrence of Capparis spinosa and Cannabis sativa, and the pharmacological value of the seeds of Capparis spinosa, it is deduced that caper was utilized for medicinal purposes.

Introduction

The genus Capparis L. consists of nearly 80 species which are grouped into four sections: sect. 1 Capparis, sect. 2 Sodada, sect. 3 Monostichocalyx, sect. 4 Busbeckea (Jacobs, 1965, Fici, 2004). Of the four sections, only plants from Capparis L. sect. Capparis have a natural distribution in the temperate zone of the North Hemisphere of the Old World. To date, the species number in Capparis L. sect. Capparis is still unresolved. Some authors are of the opinion that there is more than one species in this section (Zohary, 1960, St. John, 1965, Wu, 1999, Inocencio et al., 2002, Inocencio et al., 2005, Inocencio et al., 2006). But if one adopts a broader species concept, and following Jacobs’ taxonomic key, there is only one species, Capparis spinosa L. in Capparis L. sect. Capparis (Jacobs, 1965, Higton and Akeroyd, 1991, Fici, 2001, Fici, 2004). This taxonomic treatment is adopted in our paper.

Capparis spinosa L. (caper) is the type species of the genus. It is a spiny, prostrate, and perennial little shrub. It has a wide distribution in the Old World from South Europe, North and East Africa, Madagascar, Southwest and Central Asia to Australia and Oceania (Jacobs, 1965, Fici, 2004) (Fig. 1). Although sometimes considered as a weed, Capparis spinosa has a long history as an archaeophyte. Immature flower buds, unripe fruits and shoots are consumed as foods or condiments; flower buds, fruits, seeds, shoots and bark of roots were traditionally used for pharmacological purposes, especially for rheumatism (Renfrew, 1973, Barbera and Lorenzo, 1984, Rivera et al., 2003). Capparis spinosa has potential for use in modern cosmetics (Barbera and Lorenzo, 1984).

The relationship between capers and human beings can be traced back to the Stone Age. Remains of Capparis spinosa were unearthed in archaeological sites as early as the lower Mesolithic (9500–9000 b.p.) (Hansen, 1991). However, there was only one example of caper consumption with special purpose from archaeological sites. Carbonized flower buds and unripe fruits were unearthed in a jar at the site of Tell es-Sweyhat, Syria, dated to about 2400–1400 b.c., and were considered to be stored as a condiment (Van Zeist and Bakker-Heeres, 1985). Was Capparis spinosa used for other purposes ancient times? We would like to argue that we have found the best-preserved seeds of caper in the world and the earliest physical evidence for the medicinal uses of caper seeds 2800 years ago.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

The Yanghai Tombs are located south of the Flame Mountains (Huoyan Shan) in the Turpan District, Xinjiang Province (Fig. 2). There is a hot, arid area with little or no rain during the whole year. Many mummies and funeral objects have been well preserved in the archaeological sites. Based on the relatively isolated location, and the type of the tombs, the Yanghai Tombs were divided into three groups: nos. 1–3 by archaeologists. Group No. 2 is located in the middle among the three groups, 300 m

Results

The Yanghai Tombs belong to the Subeixi Culture, which was prosperous between 3000 and 2000 b.p., among the nomadic tribes in the ancient Turpan. The date on the caper remains showed to be 2620 ± 35 14C years b.p. (about 2800 calendar years ago) (Table 1). The plant remains of Capparis spinosa (Inventory number 05SYIIM213:2A) are deposited in the Turpan Museum, Xinjiang, China.

There were 78 clumps and a number of isolated seeds of Capparis spinosa in the jar with a total weight of 45.24 g. Each

Discussion

Plant remains of Capparis spinosa have been unearthed from many archaeological sites (Table 2 and Fig. 7) (Rivera et al., 2002). Except for examples of the carbonized flower buds and unripe fruits found in Tell es-Sweyhat, Syria, dated to about 2400–1400 b.c. (Van Zeist and Bakker-Heeres, 1985), and some charcoalified wood unearthed from the site of Malyan, Iran, dated about 4000–2000 b.c. (Miller, 1985), the other caper remains consisted of only seeds. However, due to storage conditions, most of

The medicinal significance of Capparis spinosa L.

The seeds of Capparis spinosa unearthed from archaeological sites were usually considered as weeds (Helbaek, 1966, Hillman, 1975, Van der Veen and Hamilton-Dyer, 1998). However, the seeds have various uses. Caper seeds are rich in protein, oil, and fiber, and have a potential as food (Akgül and Özcan, 1999). It has a peppery flavour, and could be used as a condiment. In Egypt, they were added to wine to keep it from deteriorating (Renfrew, 1987). Seeds of caper also have medicinal value, due to

Acknowledgements

The authors are great indebted to Ms. Cong Liu (University of Chicago, USA) and Mr. Liang-Ren Zhang (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) who supplied much of the literature; thanks to Drs. Silvio Fici (Universita di Palermo, Italy), Naomi Miller (University of Pennsylvania Museum, USA), George Willcox (Université de Lyon II, France), Jules Janick (Purdue University, USA), Subir Bera (University of Calcuta, India), Christiane Reck (Turfanforschung Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der

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