Grapes have been intertwined with human history for millennia, laying the foundation for the types of wine produced by our ancestors thousands of years ago. However, recent research suggests that this might not have occurred if dinosaurs had not vanished from our planet.
When an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, it wiped out massive species and paved the way for other organisms and plants to thrive afterward.
Fossil image (above) and artist’s rendering (below) show Lithouva, the earliest known fossil grape in the Western Hemisphere found in Colombia, dating back 60 million years. (Photo: Fabiany Herrera/Pollyanna von Knorring).
Currently, the discovery of fossilized grape seeds in Colombia, Panama, and Peru, dating from 19 million to 60 million years ago, is shedding light on how these humble fruits took root in the lush forests of Earth and eventually became globally present. One of the newly discovered seeds represents the oldest example of vine family plants found in the Western Hemisphere, according to a study published in the journal Nature Plants.
The lead author of the study, Fabiany Herrera, a paleobotany assistant curator at the Field Museum in Chicago, USA, stated: “This discovery is significant as it shows that after the dinosaurs went extinct, grapes truly began to spread across the world.”
Like the soft tissues of animals, fruits are not well-preserved in the fossil record. However, fossilized seeds can help scientists understand which types of plants were present during different stages of Earth’s history as they reconstruct the tree of life and establish origin stories.
The oldest grape fossil found to date was excavated in India and dates back 66 million years, around the time of the dinosaurs’ extinction.
After the dinosaurs disappeared, tropical rainforests became dense, and layers of trees formed an understory and canopy. These thick forests made it difficult for plants to receive light, and they had to compete for resources. Climbing plants had the advantage and used it to reach the canopy, researchers noted.
The study of seeds will tell us the story of how grapes spread, adapted, and went extinct over thousands of years, showcasing their resilience to survive in other parts of the world despite disappearing from Central and South America over time.
Some fossils are related to modern grapes, while others are distant relatives or native grapes of the Western Hemisphere. For instance, some fossil species can be traced back to grapes found only in Asia and Africa today, but it remains unclear why grapes went extinct in Central and South America.
