ABSTRACT
Unraveling the evolution of the domesticated cotton species has not proven to be an easy task. First of all, Levant cotton has a known, wild ancestor, but tree cotton does not. Remarkably, the four cotton species now grown were domesticated about the same time on four different corners of the earth. In the New World, Sea Island cotton was likely domesticated in central-coastal Peru and upland cotton in the Tehuacán Valley of Mesoamerica. Cotton was grown primarily on small farms as a companion to rice and other foodstuffs. Different types of cotton were grown in different regions of India depending on local climates and soils. The ancient Indus Valley civilizations first started to trade cotton fabrics to Mesopotamia about 2,500 years ago and to Europe a few centuries later. When Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492, he found the native Arawaks to be quite adept in cotton growing and textile manufacturing.
