Bread and Civilization

Asst. Prof. Ahmet Uhri, head of Archeology Department at 9 Eylül University in İzmir, presented a seminar on “Bread and Civilization.” In the seminar, he shared some information regarding the taming of various grains, production, and making bread.  He also mentioned how wheat, among other types of grains, have changed the course of civilization. Approximately about 3,000,000 years ago mankind would eat the carcasses leftover by wild animals. He continued with the following:

“Later in the Neolithic period, humans started to produce their own food. In short, the neolithic period can be best explained as the period when nourishment, technology, and factors that determine living conditions have taken shape. The neolithic period has started in many different regions that are independent of each other and spread to the rest of the world. However, we can accept the fact that grains rooted from Mesopotamia, have caused the formation of our lifestyles today.”

Mr. Uhri continued explaining the use of grains, its proliferation, and use in daily life, and how all this period started with taming the grains. In the following periods, how these grains have turned into flour with the help of stone grinders and then developed into bread. Bread is considered as a very important staple for all humans and aside from its importance and sacredness in the history of mankind, Mr. Uhri also mentioned its significance as a status symbol, e.g. white bread can only be consumed by the elite class.

At the end of the seminar, the participants were offered several different types of bread made during the Hittite period using natural yeasts and a variety of fillings. 

27 November 2014

Lecture video is in Turkish.