by Blueberry » Wed Dec 07, 2016 5:45 pm From Wikipedia:
Melons originated in Africa and southwest Asia, but they gradually began to appear in Europe toward the end of the Roman Empire. However recent discoveries of melon seeds dated between 1350 and 1120 BC in Nuragic sacred wells have shown that melons were first brought to Europe by the Nuragic civilization of Sardinia during the Bronze Age. Melons were among the earliest plants to be domesticated in both the Old and New Worlds.
In the 7th century watermelons were being cultivated in India, and by the 10th century had reached China. Moorish invaders introduced the fruit into Europe and there is evidence of it being cultivated in Córdoba in 961 and also in Seville in 1158. It spread northwards through southern Europe. The fruit had begun appearing in European herbals by 1600, and was widely planted in Europe in the 17th century as a minor garden crop.
"Slices of Watermelon on a Pewter Tray, with Mushrooms and Fruit" by Giuseppe Recco (1634 - 1695)
“Watermelons, peaches, pears and other fruit in a landscape” by Giovanni Stanchi (1645–1672)
The Evolution of the Watermelon, Captured in Still Lifes
The 5,000-Year Secret History of the Watermelon
