Ancient DNA from 8400 Year-Old Çatalhöyük Wheat: Implications for the Origin of Neolithic Agriculture

A groundbreaking analysis of 8400-year-old wheat grains from Çatalhöyük reveals that hexaploid wheat—similar to modern naked (T. aestivum) and hulled (T. spelta) varieties—was already cultivated in the Fertile Crescent during the Neolithic period. This finding, derived from ancient DNA sequencing of charred seeds, represents the oldest wheat genome sequenced to date and provides critical evidence for Çatalhöyük's pivotal role in the origins of agriculture. The study compared these ancient samples with contemporary wheat species, including T. monococcum, T. dicoccum, and T. dicoccoides, at HMW glutenin protein loci, shedding light on early agricultural practices that facilitated the spread of hexaploid wheat from the Fertile Crescent toward Europe.

Bilgic, H., Hakki, E. E., Pandey, A., Khan, Mohd. K., & Akkaya, M. S. (2016). Ancient DNA from 8400 Year-Old Çatalhöyük Wheat: Implications for the Origin of Neolithic Agriculture. Plos One, 11(3), e0151974. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151974