history
History of Cereal Grains
The story of cereals is the story of the rise of every aspect of human civilisation.
The beginning of organised cultivation of cereals and other foods is the pivotal point in human history where everything takes a very large step away from nomadic gathering and hunting to establishing settlements based around primitive cultivation of crops that allowed these early peoples to thrive because of sufficient available and reliable food sources. The ability to store foods also meant surviving times of hardship or through seasons of low yield. Then there is the beginning of trade based upon these founder crops. Whole grains must have been an essential part of this early alteration of human behavior.
The rise of cereal crops first appears out of Southwest Eurasia from the area that became known as the ‘Fertile Crescent’. The area is named for its crescent shape and fertile soil, and is also called the “Cradle of Civilization.” It incorporates Ancient Egypt, Ancient Mesopotamia (the location of the Tigris River and Euphrates River valleys—Mesopotamia means “land between the rivers”) and the Levant.
The subject of ancient agriculture and the evolution of trade, the spread of these practices to other regions beyond the Fertile Crescent is truly vast. This section of the website will cover a little more of the story month by month. What follows is a basic introduction. We can start with one of the most well-known and successful civilisations to enjoy great success with the methods and package of crops imported from the neighbouring region, Egypt.
Please see the sections on wheat, barley and others.
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