Angela
Elite member
- Messages
- 21,823
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- Ethnic group
- Italian
See:
http://www.archaeology.org/news/3903-151123oldest-domesticated-legumes
First Farmers in the Galilee Grew Beans
"Seeds from fava beans, lentils, peas, and chickpeas have been unearthed at Neolithic sites in the Galilee. “This is an important discovery, enabling a deeper understanding of the agricultural revolution in the southern Near East,” researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a press release. The large number of fava beans unearthed at the site of Ahihud, where seeds of a uniform size were found husked and placed in storage pits, suggests that they were the preferred crop as many as 10,000 years ago. These beans could have been used for food and for future crops. “Despite the importance of cereals in nutrition that continues to this day, it seems that in the region we examined (west of the Jordan River), it was the legumes, full of flavor and protein, which were actually the first species to be domesticated,” they explained."
I believe this supports a point made by Bicicleur a little while ago that grains were the first crop in the western Near East, and legumes in the Levant, or, as these scientists maintain, west of the Jordan.
I always find it interesting seeing when certain foods became widespread. I personally use these legumes in my cooking a couple of times a week at least, in soups, stews and salads. Obviously, I also consume grain products. Another big source of now common foods, many more than people realize, is the "New World".
http://www.archaeology.org/news/3903-151123oldest-domesticated-legumes
First Farmers in the Galilee Grew Beans
"Seeds from fava beans, lentils, peas, and chickpeas have been unearthed at Neolithic sites in the Galilee. “This is an important discovery, enabling a deeper understanding of the agricultural revolution in the southern Near East,” researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Israel Antiquities Authority said in a press release. The large number of fava beans unearthed at the site of Ahihud, where seeds of a uniform size were found husked and placed in storage pits, suggests that they were the preferred crop as many as 10,000 years ago. These beans could have been used for food and for future crops. “Despite the importance of cereals in nutrition that continues to this day, it seems that in the region we examined (west of the Jordan River), it was the legumes, full of flavor and protein, which were actually the first species to be domesticated,” they explained."
I believe this supports a point made by Bicicleur a little while ago that grains were the first crop in the western Near East, and legumes in the Levant, or, as these scientists maintain, west of the Jordan.
I always find it interesting seeing when certain foods became widespread. I personally use these legumes in my cooking a couple of times a week at least, in soups, stews and salads. Obviously, I also consume grain products. Another big source of now common foods, many more than people realize, is the "New World".