Avocados have a dual history of near-extinction and human intervention. Originating in Mexico over 10,000 years ago, the fruit co-evolved with massive herbivores like giant ground sloths and glyptodons. These animals ate the whole fruit and dispersed the large pits. When these megafauna went extinct around 13,000 years ago, the avocado lost its primary means of propagation and faced oblivion. Humans in Mesoamerica became its unlikely saviors, purposefully cultivating the trees. Centuries later,
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Avocados have a dual history of near-extinction and human intervention. Originating in Mexico over 10,000 years ago, the fruit co-evolved with massive herbivores like giant ground sloths and glyptodons. These animals ate the whole fruit and dispersed the large pits. When these megafauna went extinct around 13,000 years ago, the avocado lost its primary means of propagation and faced oblivion. Humans in Mesoamerica became its unlikely saviors, purposefully cultivating the trees. Centuries later,
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