Wheat

T. aestivum

History

Domestic wheat originated in southwest Asia in what is now known as a the Fertile_crescent. The oldest archaeological evidence for wheat cultivation comes from Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Armenia, and Iraq. Around 9000 years ago, wild einkorn wheat was harvested and domesticated in the first archeological signs of sedentary farming in the fertile crescent. Around 8,000 years ago though, a mutation or hybridization occurred within emmer wheat, resulting in a plant with seeds that were larger, but could not sow themselves on the wind (see domestication). While this plant could not have succeeded in the wild, it produced more food for humans, and within cultivated fields, it outcompeted plants with smaller, self-sowing seeds to become the primary ancestor of modern wheat breeds.

Related Topics:
Southwest Asia - Fertile_crescent - Syria - Jordan - Turkey - Armenia - Iraq - Einkorn - Mutation - Emmer - Domestication

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A wild ancestor (Triticum turgidum dicoccoides (Körn.)) of one of the earliest domesticated forms of emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum dicoccum (Schrank.)), was discovered in the region of Palestine by Aaron Aaronsohn in 1906.

Related Topics:
Emmer - Region of Palestine - Aaron Aaronsohn - 1906

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The cultivation of wheat began to spread into Europe beginning in the Neolithic period.

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