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Where did the earliest evidence of wheat cultivation appear in Southwest Asia?

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Domesticated yaks carrying supplies in colorful bundles walk along a rocky mountain trail toward Everest Base Camp, with snow-covered peaks in the background in Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal. — Domestication Domesticated yaks (*Bos grunniens*) carrying supplies to an Everest base camp in Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu region, Nepal.

The earliest evidence of domesticated wheat in Southwest Asia is found at the site of Nevali Çori in Turkey, where einkorn wheat dating to approximately 10,500 bp has been identified as the oldest indisputably domesticated grain.1

While earlier sites show evidence of the exploitation of wild grains, they do not necessarily indicate full domestication. For instance, residents at the Syrian site of Abū Hureyra were harvesting significant amounts of wild einkorn during their earlier occupation period. By the later period of occupation at Abū Hureyra, inhabitants were cultivating a broader range of crops, including two early forms of domesticated wheat: emmer (Triticum turgidum dicoccum) and einkorn (Triticum monococcum). Additionally, excavations at the site of Qal'at Jarmo in Iraq have uncovered evidence of emmer and einkorn wheat dating to approximately 6750 bce.12