Flat Bread 14,000 Years Ago

Hunter Bakers

At some point, the prehistoric Natufians decided that hunting and gathering were not all that great, so they decided to dabble with local cereals to make something edible.

Recently, more than 14,000 years later, archaeologists discovered remains of the ancient people’s burnt flatbread leftovers at a site in Jordan’s Black Desert, CNN reported.

Researchers consider the charred remains among the oldest evidence of bread production. And this bread was baked more than 4,000 years before the advent of farming.

In all, the researchers discovered 24 bread-like samples, all made from domesticated cereals and tubers, according to their study.

Lead author Amaia Arranz Otaegui tasted the tubers the ancient bakers used. “They were a little sweet and a bit salty and had a gritty texture,” she said, “but maybe that’s because we didn’t clean them well enough.”

According to historians, the Natufians – a semi-sedentary culture – found flatbreads to be a better option than other breads since they were easier to bake and transport.

“Flatbread presents numerous advantages over ‘high’ and voluminous bread loaves,” food scientist Antonella Pasqualone, who was not involved in the study, told CNN. “In my opinion, a plausible hypothesis is that this kind of bread could be a perfect bridge between hunter-gatherers and stable farmers.”