The earliest archaeological evidence for flour, which was probably processed into an unleavened bread, dates to the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe, around 30,000 years ago.[3] During this period of human history cereals constituted just one of many food sources exploited by hunting and gathering;[4] palaeolithic European diets were based mainly on animal proteins and fats.[3] Cereals and bread became a staple food during the Neolithic, around 10,000 years ago, when wheat and barley were among the first plants to be domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. Wheat-based agriculture spread from Southwest Asia to Europe, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. In other parts of the world cereals such as rice (East Asia), maize (the Americas) and sorghum (sub-Saharan Africa), which are also sometimes made into bread, were independently domesticated and formed the basis of alternative agricultural systems.[5] Around the world, the shift from varied hunter-gatherer subsistence to agricultural diets based predominantly on a cereal staple such as wheat bread marked an important turning point in human history. Though in many ways nutritionally deficient compared to hunting and gathering, cereal crops allowed agricultural societies to sustain much larger populations than had previously been possible, which in turn led to greater economic specialisation, social complexity and eventually the rise of civilised states.[6]
The development of leavened bread can also probably be traced to prehistoric times. Yeast spores occur everywhere, including the surface of cereal grains, so any dough left to rest will become naturally leavened.[7] Although leavening probably has prehistoric origins, the earliest archaeological evidence of it is from ancient Egypt. Scanning electron microscopy has detected yeast cells in some ancient Egyptian loaves. However, ancient Egyptian bread was made from emmer wheat and has a dense crumb. In cases where yeast cells are not visible, it is difficult, by visual examination, to determine whether the bread was leavened. As a result, the extent to which bread was leavened in ancient Egypt remains uncertain.[8]
The importance of bread in the formation of early human societies cannot be overstated. From the western half of Asia, where wheat was domesticated, cultivation spread north and west, to Europe and North Africa, and enabled humans to become farmers rather than hunters and foragers. This in turn led to the formation of towns, as opposed to the nomadic lifestyle, and gave rise to more and more sophisticated forms of societal organization. Similar developments occurred in eastern Asia, centered on rice, and in the Americas with maize.
The earliest archaeological evidence for flour, which was probably processed into an unleavened bread, dates to the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe, around 30,000 years ago.[3] During this period of human history cereals constituted just one of many food sources exploited by hunting and gathering;[4] palaeolithic European diets were based mainly on animal proteins and fats.[3] Cereals and bread became a staple food during the Neolithic, around 10,000 years ago, when wheat and barley were among the first plants to be domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. Wheat-based agriculture spread from Southwest Asia to Europe, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. In other parts of the world cereals such as rice (East Asia), maize (the Americas) and sorghum (sub-Saharan Africa), which are also sometimes made into bread, were independently domesticated and formed the basis of alternative agricultural systems.[5] Around the world, the shift from varied hunter-gatherer subsistence to agricultural diets based predominantly on a cereal staple such as wheat bread marked an important turning point in human history. Though in many ways nutritionally deficient compared to hunting and gathering, cereal crops allowed agricultural societies to sustain much larger populations than had previously been possible, which in turn led to greater economic specialisation, social complexity and eventually the rise of civilised states.[6]
The development of leavened bread can also probably be traced to prehistoric times. Yeast spores occur everywhere, including the surface of cereal grains, so any dough left to rest will become naturally leavened.[7] Although leavening probably has prehistoric origins, the earliest archaeological evidence of it is from ancient Egypt. Scanning electron microscopy has detected yeast cells in some ancient Egyptian loaves. However, ancient Egyptian bread was made from emmer wheat and has a dense crumb. In cases where yeast cells are not visible, it is difficult, by visual examination, to determine whether the bread was leavened. As a result, the extent to which bread was leavened in ancient Egypt remains uncertain.[8]
The importance of bread in the formation of early human societies cannot be overstated. From the western half of Asia, where wheat was domesticated, cultivation spread north and west, to Europe and North Africa, and enabled humans to become farmers rather than hunters and foragers. This in turn led to the formation of towns, as opposed to the nomadic lifestyle, and gave rise to more and more sophisticated forms of societal organization. Similar developments occurred in eastern Asia, centered on rice, and in the Americas with maize.
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