The Egyptians reveal both wheat and the discovery of leavened bread in ancient tombs almost 5,000 years old. Seven cereal grains largely sustain and nourish humankind. Six of these are part of primitive history. Oldest to youngest, they are millet, oats, barley and wheat, with rye and maize, or corn, following. Rice has a history all its own.
Wheat is now the principal sustaining grain for people all over the world.
Credit for its first discovery and cultivation cannot be given to any certain person or place. However, archaeologists can come close. Archeologists have found kernels of both wild and cultivated einkorn and emmer in excavated villages in Egypt and southwestern Asia's Fertile Crescent, the area between the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Syria - provide insight into how early Neolithic people, beginning from about 10,000 to 9,500 years ago, moved from being gatherers to farmers. They began by cultivating the grains of einkorn, emmer, oats, and barley, as well as the edible seeds, or pulses, of chickpeas and lentils.