Apples were first domesticated in West Asia after PIE. The Romans brought them back to Rome, and the expanding Islamic Empire introduced domestic apples to Europe. For centuries following Europeans thought all apples originated from Rome or the Middle East because Westerners only knew of dry-land cultivation up until this point. Later, when other varieties were discovered in China, they became known as “wild” grapes (Vitis spp.) for over two thousand years before it would be determined that they were indeed different species; scientific evidence did not exist at that time for cross-breeding or genetic engineering…