Measuring grain size and identifying Near Eastern cereal domestication: evidence from the Euphrates valley

Abstract

Cereal grains recovered from recent excavations at two early Neolithic tenth millennium (BP non cal.) sites on the Euphrates were measured. The results presented as scatter diagrams showed that there was an increase in grain size between early and later levels. This led to the question of whether or not the changes were due to the effects of domestication. The data provided an opportunity to evaluate the use of measurements as a method to identify morphological domestication from early farming sites. Results were compared to domesticated specimens from a site dating to the end of the seventh millennium situated in the same geographical area and it was found that the upper size range from the Neolithic levels corresponded well with domesticated grains. Data from some published sites was also plotted. The factors affecting grain size such as morphological domestication, charring, environmental factors and crop processing are discussed in relation to the results.