Editing Common sunflower (section)

=== History ===
Common sunflower was one of several plants cultivated by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] in [[prehistoric]] North America as part of the [[Eastern Agricultural Complex]], which also included corn, beans, squash, and a variety of other crops.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-13 |title=Native American - Prehistoric Farming, Agriculture, Cultivation {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American/Prehistoric-farmers |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Although it was commonly accepted that the sunflower was first domesticated in what is now the southeastern US, roughly 5,000 years ago,<ref>Blackman et al. (2011). [http://www.pnas.org/content/108/34/14360.full]. PNAS.</ref> there is evidence that it was first domesticated in Mexico<ref>Lentz et al. (2008). [http://www.pnas.org/content/105/17/6232.full.pdf. PNAS.]</ref> around 2600&nbsp;BCE. These crops were found in [[Tabasco, Mexico]], at the San Andres dig site. The earliest known examples in the US of a fully domesticated sunflower have been found in [[Tennessee]], and date to around 2300&nbsp;BCE.<ref>Rieseberg, Loren H., et al. (2004). Origin of Extant Domesticated Sunflowers in Eastern North America. ''Nature'' 430.6996. 201–205.</ref> Other very early examples come from rockshelter sites in Eastern Kentucky.<ref>Henderson & Pollack (2012). [https://heritage.ky.gov/Documents/Native_History_KyTeachers.pdf Kentucky history].</ref> Many [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous American peoples]] used the sunflower as the symbol of their [[solar deity]], including the [[Tonatiuh|Aztecs]] and the [[Otomi people|Otomi]] of Mexico and the [[Inca Empire|Incas]] in South America. In 1510, early Spanish explorers encountered the sunflower in the Americas and carried its seeds back to Europe.<ref>{{cite book |last=Putt, E.D. |title=Sunflower Technology and Production |publisher=American Society of Agronomy |year=1997 |editor=A.A. Schneiter |series=Agronomy Series |volume=35 |location=Madison, Wisconsin |pages=1–19 |chapter=Early history of sunflower}}</ref> Of the four plants known to have been domesticated in eastern North America<ref>Smith (2006). [http://www.pnas.org/content/103/33/12223.full]. PNAS.</ref> and to have become important agricultural commodities, the sunflower is currently the most economically important.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Research of phylogeographic relations and population demographic patterns across sunflowers has demonstrated that earlier cultivated sunflowers form a [[clade]] from wild populations from the [[Great Plains]], which indicates that there was a single domestication event in central North America. Following the cultivated sunflower's origin, it may have gone through significant bottlenecks dating back to ~5,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Brian |last2=Burke |first2=John M. |date=March 2020 |title=Phylogeography and the Evolutionary History of Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): Wild Diversity and the Dynamics of Domestication |journal=Genes |language=en |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=266 |doi=10.3390/genes11030266 |pmc=7140811 |pmid=32121324 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In the 16th century the first crop breeds were brought [[Columbian exchange|from America to Europe]] by explorers.<ref name="Hancock2012">{{cite book |last=Hancock |first=J.F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRHaEWvR1uMC |title=Plant Evolution and the Origin of Crop Species |publisher=CABI Pub. |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-85199-874-9 |page=188 |access-date=2022-04-07}}</ref> Domestic sunflower seeds have been found in Mexico, dating to 2100&nbsp;BCE. Native American people grew sunflowers as a crop from Mexico to Southern Canada.<ref name="Hancock2012" /> They then were introduced to the [[Russian Empire]], where oilseed cultivators were located, and the flowers were developed and grown on an industrial scale. The Russian Empire reintroduced this oilseed cultivation process to North America in the mid-20th century; North America began their commercial era of sunflower production and breeding.<ref name="Atamian-2016" />  New breeds of the ''Helianthus spp.'' began to become more prominent in new geographical areas. During the 18th century, the use of sunflower oil became very popular in Russia, particularly with members of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], because only plant-based fats were allowed during [[Great Lent|Lent]], according to [[Fasting#Rules|fasting traditions]].<ref>SUNFLOWERS: The Secret History. (2007). ''Kirkus Reviews'' 75.23:1236. ''Academic Search Complete.'' Web. 17 November 2012.</ref> In the early 19th century, it was first commercialized in the [[Alexeyevka, Belgorod Oblast|village of Alexeyevka]] in [[Voronezh Governorate]] by the merchant named Daniil Bokaryov, who developed a technology suitable for its large-scale extraction, and quickly spread around. The town's coat of arms has included an image of a sunflower ever since.{{cn|date=November 2024}}