| A wheat field near Ankara of Triticum durum. Along the highway, a wild Einkorn, Triticum aegilopoides, formed a large population. The population was found to involve variations in color, awning and other characteristics. We took very valuable data from this habitat. Aegilops mutica. The two on the right are the compact heads, probably new to science, and they seem to be most important. The two on the left are the normals. The Bosporas strait. A view of Istanbul with a mixture of old and new. Over the Aegean Sea, we flew down to Greece. A birdeye view of the city of Athens. We visited Elevsis, an old historical town in the north of Athens. Among the mysterious characters exhibited, TRIPTOLYMOS receives the legendary ears of wheat from DEMETER for all mankind. Aegilops abounded in the mythological temple ground: for instance, Aegilops biuncialis. With the mythological thoughts of the origin of wheat in our mind, we turned back to the highland above the fertile crescent in Asia Minor where possibly our Emmer wheat originated. Mt. Ararat, 5200 meters high, known for the legend of the NOAH's Ark about 6 to 7 thousand years ago as described in the Genesis of the Bible. We returned to Egypt. Here are presented a few sections of the mural paintings of wheat culture of MENES in Thebes. Look at the pose and the tool. In reality, they still exist, and are in use in Northern Syria. The Agricultural Museum in Cairo. Dr. TACKHOLM, received us very warmly, and assisted us kindly to examine the excavated wheat grains found in the pyramids. The oldest samples are 7000 years old and were identified as Triticum dicoccum. She said that the age of the carbonated grains was also ascertained by the C14 method to be about 6500 years, which conforms well with the archaeological estimation. However, this species is not grown there today. The majority of the present wheat belongs to Triticum aestivum, called "hindi" in Arabic. According to FIKRY this is a recent introduction and has threshable ears. Were the grains preserved in the Pyramids produced there, or were they brought in from the neighbouring regions? The history of wheat is the history of culture; The pyramids their vigil keep. END |
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