Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 years.

One of the stone structures of the Shubayqa 1 site. The fireplace, where the bread was found, is in the middle. Photo: Alexis Pantos

​Time to rewrite the history books again! In Jordan, at a site called Shubayqa 1, archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen, University College London and University of Cambridge, have found traces of what may be the oldest bread in the world. In fact, the bread residues found are older than agriculture. In a discovery that could rewrite human history, archaeologists found 24 charred remains of flat loaves of bread dating to as far back as 14,400 years! Discoveries of the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the Eastern Mediterranean, like flint sickle blades and ground stone tools, have led researchers to believe they may exploited plants in a number of ways. This new discovery, however, means that man made bread four thousand years earlier than the oldest known remains of agriculture.

The research, published in the scientific journalism Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the pieces of bread were baked from early ancestors of cereals that were later domesticated. Analysis of the remains found that wild grains were ground into flour, after which dough was made. The result was a type of bread that was also found at other Neolithic and Roman sites in Europe and Turkey. The archaeologists are curious here whether the use of the wild cereals has had an influence on the later cultivation of crops, but whether this actually was the case, has yet to appear from follow-up research.

Did bread contribute to the development of agriculture?
The fact that the bread was baked before farming took place indicates that the bread had a special status. Making bread is in fact a laborious process, grain has to be harvested, the grains have to be peeled and ground, the dough has to be kneaded and then the bread has to be baked. Perhaps the desire to make more of this special food has contributed to the development of agriculture.


Natufian culture
In the follow-up studies into the development of agriculture, research will continue to focus on the Natufian culture. The Natufian culture lived between about 12,000 BC. and 9,000 BCE, in the area of ​​what is now Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and parts of Syria. It is known as a culture that played an important role in the transition from nomadic cultures to cultures with a permanent residence. For example, Natufian culture was a hunter-gatherer culture, but they did have permanent settlements. The place in which the bread was found is such a permanent settlement.