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How ancient people fell in love with bread, beer and other carbs

Well before people domesticated crops, they were grinding grains for hearty stews and other starchy dishes.
  1. Andrew Curry

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Pillars and sunken steps make up the ruins of the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site, Turkey.

Grains were on the menu at feasts that took place more than 11,000 years ago at Göbekli Tepe in Turkey — one of the world’s oldest temples. Credit: Vincent J. Musi

On a clear day, the view from the ruins of Göbekli Tepe stretches across southern Turkey all the way to the Syrian border some 50 kilometres away. At 11,600 years old, this mountaintop archaeological site has been described as the world’s oldest temple — so ancient, in fact, that its T-shaped pillars and circular enclosures pre-date pottery in the Middle East.

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Nature 594, 488-491 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01681-w

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