Once upon a time there were Karakoram apricots
Nibbleable Fruits 4/6. How have people managed to survive for centuries on the steep slopes of northern Pakistan? A team of German-Pakistani researchers believes they have found the beginnings of an explanation in local tales featuring the tasty stone fruit, explains the German magazine “Die Zeit.”
One day, a long time ago, one of my great-great-grandfathers went out to rob with a friend. They came across a traveler, engrossed in reading a book. They immediately pounced on him and killed him.
This is how a story begins, straight from the “roof of the world,” the Karakoram range in northern Pakistan. With peaks reaching over 8,000 meters, temperatures dropping below –30°C in winter, and mountain passes frozen in ice, it is the kingdom of snow leopards, yaks, and markhor goats . Here, rock reigns supreme, in defiance of humans.
There are few places on earth where survival is more difficult. And yet, for several millennia, humanity has settled on the slopes of these giant mountains, creating oases and orchards, building villages, and inhabiting the high alpine pastures. How did it achieve this feat?
A German-Pakistani team has been studying this question for fifteen years now. Scientists have analyzed the genetic makeup of hardy apple tree species, the genomic diversity of yaks, and sent soil samples to distant laboratories. “But a year ago, when a local elder told us about a
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