The Bottle Gourd Appears to Have a Much Different Origin

question 22

Multiple Choice

The bottle gourd appears to have a much different origin than other New World domesticates. Which of the following explains its origins?

• A) It floated across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa, where it occurs in the wild.
• B) AMS radiocarbon dates of samples and analyses of DNA markers indicate the gourd was carried from Asia by PaleoIndian colonists.
• C) It was packed on the back of dogs which accompanied the first humans into the New World.
• D) It spread with guinea pigs and Muscovy ducks from western South America.
• E) No scientific explanations have been reached as to the origins.

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