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Zucchini is a cultivar-group of cucurbita pepo subspecies pepo
Part of on of the oldest domesticated squash species.

Cucurbita pepo is native to the Americas, with wild ancestors found in northeastern Mexico and the southeastern and central United States.

Thicker rinds, larger peduncles in fruit remains and archaeological evidence of intentional breeding, have been found from more than 8000 years ago
At Guilá Naquitz Cave, in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Early human use likely began with wild squash for its nutritious seeds, hard rinds (for containers), and fibers. With edible flesh selected later

They also selected for: less bitterness (loss of defense compounds), larger fruits, more palatable flesh
Varied fruit shapes and colors were more used for tools or containers.

Unlike the ancient history of C. pepo as a species, zucchini as a distinct cultivar-group (sub-species) is recent

The vegetable cucurbita pepo pepo was developed in Italy in the mid-19th century, especially around Milan

Check out cucurbita pepo, summer squash, and zucchini; with some more neolithic architecture today.

Bibliography: Teresa A. Lust, Harry S. Paris, Italian horticultural and culinary records of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbitaceae) and emergence of the zucchini in 19th-century Milan, Annals of Botany, Volume 118, Issue 1, July 2016, Pages 53–69, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcw080

Smith, Bruce. (1997). The Initial Domestication of Cucurbita pepo in the Americas 10,000 Years Ago. sci. 276. 932-934. 10.1126/science.276.5314.932.

Paris, Harry. History of the Cultivar-Groups of Cucurbita pepo.

Domic, A.I., VanDerwarker, A.M., Thakar, H.B. et al. Archaeobotanical evidence supports indigenous cucurbit long-term use in the Mesoamerican Neotropics. Sci Rep 14, 10885 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60723-1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-60723-1