Cucurbita: cultivation Before the Great Flood

Cucurbita is a genus that includes squashes, pumpkins and gourds. People have grown these plants for thousands of years. They have long been a staple crop. They gave food, storage vessels and even musical instruments. Could the cultivation of Cucurbita go back even further, to before the Great Flood, about 12,800 years ago?

Tracing Cucurbita’s Ancient Origins

Archaeological studies have documented the domestication of Cucurbita well. They suggest it was one of the first crops grown in Mesoamerica. Recent finds date the earliest confirmed domestication to about 10,000 years ago. Earlier civilizations may still have used it.

Across Mexico and Central America, archaeologists have dug up Cucurbita seeds and remains in ancient middens (refuse heaps). Radiocarbon dating gives dates of about 10,000 BCE for some of these finds. Most experts agree this was a key period in the domestication of plants. A few researchers propose that cultivation began even earlier. That would be before the climate shifts of the Younger Dryas period and the Great Flood.

Possible Evidence Before the Great Flood

1. Flood Narratives and Ancient Agriculture: Many cultures tell of a Great Flood. The best known accounts are in the Bible and in Mesopotamian writings. These tales are often tied to the disaster of about 12,800 years ago, when sea levels rose and landscapes changed. It is hard to say which plants people grew before this event. There are some clues. In several early Mesoamerican settlements, researchers have found pollen and phytoliths (microscopic plant structures) from squash and other Cucurbita species. This suggests a long history of cultivation that may reach back into the time before the Flood.
2. Genetic Traces and Ancestral Cultivation: Modern genetic study of Cucurbita species shows an unexpectedly varied history. This suggests the plants were domesticated more than once. Some scientists think early attempts to grow wild Cucurbita could be older than current archaeological evidence can show. Humans before the Flood, taking up early farming, may have grown Cucurbita in small plots. That would have added to its genetic variety.

The Role of Cucurbita in Ancient Cultures

Cucurbita mattered for food and for culture. Gourd artifacts have been found in burial sites. Their use as water containers is well documented. For people, Cucurbita was more than a crop. It was part of rituals and art, and part of how communities adapted to a changing environment.

Cucurbita in Folklore and Mythology

Cucurbita has a large place in many native myths and folklore across the Americas. For example:

1. The Nahua Creation Myth: In Nahua mythology, Cucurbita gourds are tied to the creation of the world. After a great flood, the gods are said to have used the remains of a giant gourd to make the first land. Life could then begin again.
2. Hopi Stories of Survival: In Hopi oral tradition, squash and gourds helped people survive hard times. In one story the early Hopi had to migrate through dry lands. They carried dried gourds filled with seeds and water. These kept them alive until they reached fertile ground. The gourds were believed to have protective powers. They became symbols of staying power and resourcefulness.
3. Maya Mythology: In one Maya tale, the gods made humans from maize and other crops, including Cucurbita. Squash was one of the main materials used to shape the bodies of the first humans. The Maya also used gourds in ceremonies and offerings. There they stood for the cycle of life and death.

Chinese Folklore and Mythology Involving Cucurbita

In Chinese folklore, Cucurbita also plays an important role. It often stands for abundance and good fortune:

1. The Legend of the Magic Gourd: A popular Chinese story is the “Legend of the Magic Gourd” (Hulu). A young boy finds a magic gourd that grants his wishes. The gourd stands for prosperity and magic, for wishes fulfilled and for the power to change things. The tale is loved by children and has been adapted many times in different media.
2. The Immortals and the Gourd: In Daoist mythology, gourds are often linked to immortals and alchemists. Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals, is often shown carrying a gourd full of the elixir of immortality. The gourd stands for rising above the physical world. It shows the mystical powers that traditional Chinese culture gave to certain plants. Gourds were believed to trap evil spirits or hold magic potions. This ties Cucurbita to the spiritual and the supernatural.

West African Folklore: In West African cultures, gourds also matter in myth and spiritual practice. The Yoruba people of Nigeria see the gourd as a sacred symbol tied to the origin of the universe. In one Yoruba creation myth, the god Obatala used a gourd to come down from the heavens and create the land. The gourd stands for fertility, creativity and the link between the spiritual and earthly worlds. Gourds are used in traditional ceremonies, as musical instruments and in rituals that honor ancestors and the gods.

Japanese Mythology: In Japan, gourds are called “hyotan.” They have symbolic meaning in many myths and legends. In one myth the hero Momotaro, who was born from a peach, later used a gourd to carry sacred sake. The sake helped him defeat ogres. Gourds are also linked to protection and good luck. Samurai often carried small gourds as charms. They believed the gourds protected them in battle.

Medicinal Uses of Cucurbita in Traditional Cultures

Many cultures have used Cucurbita as a folk remedy:

1. Native American Remedies: Native Americans used pumpkins to treat intestinal worms and urinary problems. American doctors took up this remedy in the early nineteenth century as an anthelmintic, a drug to expel worms.
2. Southeastern Europe: In southeastern Europe, seeds of Cucurbita pepo were used to treat irritable bladder and benign prostatic hyperplasia. In Germany, Commission E assesses folk and herbal medicine. It approves pumpkin seeds for irritated bladder and for urination problems in stages 1 and 2 of prostatic hyperplasia. Studies that confirm this use are limited.
3. China: In traditional Chinese medicine, Cucurbita moschata seeds have been used to treat parasitic diseases such as schistosomiasis and to expel tapeworms.
4. Mexico: In Mexico, herbalists use Cucurbita ficifolia. They believe it helps lower blood sugar.

In 1990 the FDA in the United States banned the sale of all such non-prescription drugs for treating an enlarged prostate.

If early humans grew Cucurbita before the Flood, it may have helped them survive. It would have given them food and practical tools. The plants are hardy and have many uses. That would have made them ideal for communities facing an unpredictable environment.

Jonah – Biblical story

The crop the Atlanteans were harvesting and double cropping was, at least in part, the gourd (Cucurbitaceae). This can be deduced from the biblical story of Jonah civilising Nineveh.

This rests on two premises. The first is that Jonah is the same figure as Oannes of the Apkallu. The second is that the Apkallu are Atlantean emissaries. This appears to be the case, since they are sent from the god Enki, who can be likened to the god Atlas. For context, the Apkallu are known as a civilising people. They brought knowledge of agriculture and irrigation to the Sumerians. They also wore fish outfits.

In the biblical account, Jonah arrives in Nineveh, spat out from a large fish. He announces that the city will be “haphak” (overthrown or transformed). The city then fasts in repentance. Jonah withdraws to the outskirts and builds a “sukkāh” (booth, shade-structure). God then grows a gourd that climbs the structure and gives Jonah shade. The gourd dies after a worm eats it. End of story.

Gourds aren’t native to Iraq, where the story is set. They are native to semi-tropical regions of Africa.