8,600-Year-Old Fermented Bread Unearthed in Çatalhöyük: World’s Oldest Bread Found
An 8,600-year-old “bread” has been discovered at Çatalhöyük, one of the earliest urban sites in the world.
Çatalhöyük, located in the Çumra district of Konya, housed around 8,000 people during the neolithic age. Within the site known as “Site 66,” archaeologists uncovered a bread-baking hut adjacent to a clay-brick house accessed from above.
Near the partially destroyed oven, researchers found wheat, barley, and pea seeds, along with various artifacts likely related to food preparation.
Analysis conducted at the Center for Research and Application of Science and Technology at Necmettin Erbakan University confirmed that the spongy residue was fermented bread dating back to 6600 B.C.
Associate Professor Ali Umut Churkan, head of the excavation committee, emphasized the importance of food archaeology, citing Anatolia and Çatalhöyük as significant sites for such discoveries.
The discovery pushes back the known origins of bread-making, which were previously traced to Egypt. The fermented bread found in Çatalhöyük predates any other known example by thousands of years.
Salih Kavak, a lecturer at Gaziantep University, described the excitement of finding grain residues and the subsequent chemical and physical analyses that confirmed the hypothesis.
Dr. Yasin Ramazan Eker, deputy director of BİTAM, highlighted the advanced technology and expertise available in Turkey for analyzing archaeological finds.
Dr. Oğuz Doğan, a faculty member at Necmettin Erbakan University, emphasized BİTAM’s role in determining the chemical and physical structures of archaeological samples.
The discovery of this ancient bread not only sheds light on early human diets and culinary practices but also underscores the significance of Anatolia in the history of food production and civilization.
Compiled by: Deniz KAFKAS
Source: Title: 8,600-Year-Old Fermented Bread Unearthed in Çatalhöyük: World’s Oldest Bread Found
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