Extinct 800-Year-Old Squash Revived by Students from Ancient Seeds

It's a bit like the Jurassic Park version of gourds. Students have managed to revive an extinct form of squash that's been gone for hundreds of years.

The revived squash is actually due to an archaeological dig in Canada. Researchers at this site unearthed a small clay vessel that's estimated to be about 800 years old. While the vessel itself is a wonderful discovery, what was inside it was even more astonishing. Researchers found the preserved seeds of an ancient squash.

The seeds were fascinating. But what's even more amazing is that students at Canadian Mennonite University successfully grew one large squash from the seeds, essentially reviving an extinct species. They're not going to stop there, either. The students plan to save the seeds from the first squash and then grow even more plants. This could potentially cause the species to thrive and create a new food resource.

The squash itself is bright orange in color with lighter orange patches in stripe-like patterning across it. It's also long-about a foot in length and shaped a bit like a cucumber.

This particular squashed variety is now saved for future generations. The students are currently planning on never letting this particular species of squash go extinct again.

For more information about the squash, you can watch a video of the discovery and the findings here.

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