New findings at the archeological site Ohalo II near the Sea of Galilee have revealed that wheat and barley had been sown there dating back 23,000 years -- 11,000 years prior to the estimated inception of organized agriculture. Professor Ehud Weiss of the Land of Israel Studies and Archeology Department at Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Ainit Snir led the team of archeologists, botanists, and ecologists who made the breakthrough discovery, which was published in the July issue of the Plos One scientific journal. Until now, historians have believed that humans began transitioning from hunter-gatherer societies to established agriculture communities some 12,000 years ago. The Israeli researchers based their startling new conclusion on three discoveries: the atypically high presence of domestic, rather than wild, wheat and barley dispersal units; a high concentration of proto-weeds -- plants of the type known to flourish in fields planted with domesticated crops; and sickle blades that were used to cut and harvest grains. Weiss explained that the plant remains from the site were unusually well-preserved because they had been charred and then covered by sediment and water, which sealed them in low-oxygen conditions. "Due to this, it was possible to recover an extensive amount of information on the site and its inhabitants -- which made this a uniquely preserved site, and therefore one of the best archaeological examples worldwide of hunter-gatherers' way of life. Here we see evidence of repeated sowing and harvesting of later domesticated cereals," Weiss explained. "The ears of cereals like wheat and barley -- in their wild form -- are built from separate units that break off and are easily dispersed, allowing the seeds to reach the ground, germinate, and grow into a new plant without any human intervention," Weiss said. "When humans cultivate these grains over a number of successive seasons, however, a change occurs. They develop a rough scar that locks the seed dispersal units together. Such plants cannot sow themselves. This is the hallmark of domesticated, rather than wild-type plants." Ohalo II is a 23,000-year-old camp site of a community of hunter-gatherers who lived on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Located 9 kilometers (6 miles) south of Tiberias, the site was discovered in 1989 when the level of the lake plummeted.
