Recommended Future Lines of Research
In conclusion there are numerous evidences that converge on Ethiopia as an origin of C. arabica. Integration of many lines of evidences has provided a higher confidence level of the result. A lot of studies have been dedicated to C. arabica and many details about coffee has been established, but further research will add more data in the fields that do not have as much evidences as others. In the future it is recommended to concentrate on archaeological research in Ethiopia which would provide more data about coffee origin and dating. The Kafa Archaeological Project study article mentioned that archaeological excavation in Ethiopia has been lagging. One of the reasons is that the area is isolated and hard to establish communication. Also more archaeological research should be done at the dig at the Kush. The two coffee beans found at the archaeological site should be dated using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. The particular site should be extensively researched before changing the history of coffee based on just two coffee seeds. When evaluation of the evidence is taking place the abundance of data provides more confidence for the data. So the future excavation at the site will find more coffee seeds if indeed the coffee has been known as early as 1100s. This date contradicts the historical date which is 350 years later. Further archaeological and historical analysis should be performed to find out which date is the correct one.
The next line of research should measure and collect genetic diversity at the origin of C. arabica diversity. Since the scientific research is pointing to the reduced genetic diversity in current C. arabica cultivars. At the FAO website there was a mention of a mission that took place in South West Ethiopia in 1964 that gathered C. arabica material. It is crucial to maintain genetic variability in C. arabica.
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