Source: French to English Tester Published on: 2026-04-01
Source: The Conversation – France in French (2)– By Rémi Noraz, PhD student in Archaeobiology and Paleoecology, University of Montpellier
Grape seeds found on archaeological sites may seem trivial. However, the analysis of their DNA provides access to the millennia-old history of cultivated grapevines.
We sequenced the genome of seeds thousands of years old, revealing a story already glimpsed by archaeology: that of the introduction of viticulture in France, exchanges of grape varieties at the European level, and ancient agricultural practices that have left traces up to today.
Our results, recently published inNature communications, show notably that some emblematic grape varieties, like Pinot Noir, the flagship variety of Burgundy, were already present in the Middle Ages.
How did we analyze the DNA of 4,000-year-old grape seeds?
The history of the vine has long relied on the morphological study of seeds. This powerful approach has made it possible to distinguish major trends, particularly concerning the wild or domestic nature of the seeds, and to trace the beginnings of viticulture.
However, some questions remained difficult to resolve: geographical origin of grape varieties, kinship relationships, as well as modes of propagation (crossbreeding or clonal reproduction) and circulation of plants. Ancient DNA, which can be preserved in the very heart of the seeds, provides particularly decisive assistance here, serving as a witness to the relationships between vines of the past and those of today.
We thus analyzed 49 pips from different archaeological sites, mostly French, covering nearly 4,000 years, from the Bronze Age to the end of the Middle Ages. These waterlogged pips were preserved in specific, humid contexts that contributed to the good preservation of their DNA.
S. Ivorra, CNRS,Provided by the author
The DNA was extracted in the specialized ancient DNA laboratory of the Toulouse Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics, designed to isolate and handle molecules as rare and degraded as those that have traversed the ages in archaeological remains. This ancient DNA was able to be deciphered thanks to advanced sequencing technologies to read the entirety of the genetic information, which here is a genetic text of about 500 million letters.
This data allows establishing genetic relationships between individuals, identifying the origins of grape varieties, and retracing past propagation techniques: either by crossing, mixing varieties of different origins or qualities; or by clonal reproduction (by cuttings, layering, or grafting) to maintain unchanged over time a variety that was particularly precious to them.
Our discovery proves the antiquity of viticulture
The first cultivated vines appear in France around600 BCE, with the development of Mediterranean trade, especially wine. They coexist with local wild vines, and crossings between these two types contribute to the diversity of grape varieties.
Genetic analyses also confirm the existence of long-distance circulations from this period. Influences coming from Iberia, the Balkans, or the Near East testify to exchanges of plants and know-how on the scale of the Mediterranean and, more generally, of Europe.
Another important point: clonal multiplication appears as an ancient and common practice, already in place since the Iron Age. It allowed certain varieties of interest to be maintained over long periods and to be spread over long distances.
It is within this framework that we identified a medieval pine considered to be genetically identical to today’s Pinot Noir, illustrating the continuity of certain grape varieties over several centuries.
What prospects are there for this research?
The contribution of ancient DNA is not limited to confirming existing scenarios: it also opens up new avenues.
By combining old and modern data, it becomes possible to go further in characterizing the vineyards of the past.Approaches recentwould, for example, make it possible to infer certain characteristics of ancient grapes, such as the color of the berries or some traits related to taste.
These methods could also help to better understand the adaptations of grape varieties to past environments, as well as the choices made by ancient societies in their agricultural practices.
In the long term, this research helps to better document the genetic diversity of the vine and its evolution, an important issue in the current context of climate change.
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Rémi Noraz received funding from the ANR MICA (ANR-22-CE27-0026).
–ref. DNA spoke: vine cultivation in France dates back more than 4,000 years –https://theconversation.com/ladn-a-parle-la-culture-de-la-vigne-en-france-date-de-plus-de-4-000-ans-279388