The Neolithic Revolution, Part VI: Did the Discovery of Bread Cause the Shift From Hunter Gathering to Farming?

Experimenting With Wild Grass Recipes and the Discovery of Bread

A close-up view of tall stalks of wheat growing in a field under a cloudy sky. — Wild wheat. Imgur

Wild wheat and barley were probably seen early on only as particularly good grazing for the newly domesticated flocks of sheep and goats. They would not have been initially considered appetizing fare, fit for human consumption. Hunger, however, is the world’s best seasoning: it can transform the most unpalatable foods into mouth-watering dishes. At some point, the pangs of hunger in a particularly lean stretch got some people to experiment with wild grass recipes. There were undoubtedly many trials and errors that probably involved boiling wild wheat and barley entire. It was eventually discovered that only the seeds were worth eating, while the stems were best left to the sheep and goats.

More experimentation likely involved boiled wheat and barley seeds – an improvement over boiled stems. Yet more experimentation that involved grinding, mixing, and baking, eventually produced a recipe for bread. When bread was discovered – even the early dense and unleavened loaves – it must have seemed like a miracle food. What had once been useless wild grasses fit only for grazing, now offered an entire nutritious meal in a single lump. It meant that the territory where those wild grasses grew could now support far more people than had hitherto been imagined.

Discovering the Secret of Grains Transformed Hunter Gatherers Into Farmers

Neolithic family makes bread — A family makes bread at the start of the Neolithic Revolution. Pinterest

Initially, wild wheat and barley seeds were simply collected while in season. They were then taken back to the local inhabitants’ temporary campsites. Some of the gathered seeds inevitably fell near those temporary dwellings. The fallen seeds grew into new plants, and over the years, the accumulation of the nutritious wild grasses eventually transformed the vicinities of the campsites into new and increasingly denser wheat or barley fields. Eventually, somebody figured out the link between dropping some seeds on the earth, and the emergence some months later of new plants with many more seeds. Thus was born farming. Also, an incentive to take care of the wheat or barley fields to ensure a steady grain supply.

The Benefits of Grain Seeds

An added incentive to spend the time and effort necessary to tend the miracle wild grasses was their seeds’ durability. Once gathered, a kernel of wheat, for example, could last for years. That stood in stark contrast to most other dietary staples of hunter gatherers. Items such as meat, fish, or fruits, had to be consumed soon after they were collected, or they would spoil. Grains could be collected, and kept for far longer. So hunter gatherers started to till, plant, and weed the wheat and barley fields. They became part time farmers in the hope of raising enough grain to supplement their hunter gatherer diet. Farming had started as a part time gig for the hunter gatherers who had first discovered its secrets. It eventually became a full time occupation for their descendants.