Wheat

Wheat is a grain widely cultivated for its seeds. These seeds, which compose the many species of wheat, form the widely grown "Triticum aestivum," which means "spring wheat" in the Traveler's Tongue. This type of wheat produces the ingredients of bread, a worldwide staple food. Archaeological evidence suggests that wheat was first cultivated in southeastern and northeastern Eldham in the Loanian Period of the Promesolithic Era.

Wheat is grown on more land area than any other crop. Its constant source of income makes it the largest surplus crop in world trade. In world economics, farming wheat has been considered as more profitable than mining diamonds as a stack of wheat can earn around $400. Global demand for this crop is increasing due to the production of wheat beer, whose consumption is increasing as a result of the rising facilitation of industrialization processes.

Wheat is also a major crop that attracts livestock, which can allow players to create herding and breeding farms. For animals such as llamas or horses, wheats can provide healthy nutrition. Similarly, since wheat is the leading source of surplus crops, the production of bread is considered an important source of nutrition for players, especially for nomads.

Origin and Lore
Repeated cultivation and harvesting had led to the creation of domestic strains as farmers started choosing certain forms of wheat. In domesticated cereal grains, the seeds remain stuck into the soil and attached to a strong axis during harvesting. Unfortunately, continuous sowing with wild grains made much of these domesticated species of wheat die out. In wild strains, the axis of the grains deteriorate, allowing farmers to reuse seeds. In prehistoric times, selection of these grains might not have been intended but simply occurred because this trait made gathering seeds easier. The incidental selection for these seeds directly led to the worldwide domestication of a specific cereal wheat grain.

Geological evidence suggests that the first grasses of wheat evolved about 420 million years ago. These vascular grasses probably took the form of a moss-like texture and became the diet of large amphibian herbivore mammals during the Neomesolithic Era about 240 million years ago. These moss grasses were mainly frequent in rainforests and swamps. However, after millions of years of geological changes, distribution of biomes caused a massive recession of tropical regions. The wheat moss died out and evolved to an early form of wheat that adapted to a more humid climate. This species of wheat was the Triticum boeoticum, which means 'single grain' or 'einkorn' in Traveler's Tongue.

Archaeological analysis of a domesticated form of this grain indicates that wheat was first cultivated in southern Syltor, with finds dating back as far as 11,000 BJC. Genetic evidence in that region suggests that it was first grown in the Fornois Mountains in northwestern Aurlûnor Velande by the Guren peoples. Artifacts from the Dawou culture has been found in the region as well. Dated archaeological remains of wild einkorn in settlement sites near this region, including those at the modern-day western Lhûmar, suggest the domestication of einkorn wheat along the Lothranis Sea between 10,600 BJC and 8,400 BJC. Remains of harvested emmer from several sites near the Alvada Range have been dated to between 9,800 BJC (at Yi'yen) and 7,600 BJC (at Helemar). With the exception of the cave north of Lhumar, the earliest dated remains of emmer wheat were found in the earliest levels of Tacua Province, near Talhûnar. These remains were dated by archaeologists to 6,300 BJC. They concluded that settlers from the Elven Migrations did not develop this form of emmer themselves but brought the domesticated grains with them from western Syltor. After the Elven Migrations through Aurlûnor Velande, the tradition of harvesting wheat had been passed down to the elf overlords.

The cultivation of emmer reached Ardat Mosul and Nieden by 6200 BJC. The early Ardatians were developers of bread, which played an important role to the establishment of the first caliphate in 5500 BJC. Neolithic tribes of all races started cultivating other forms of wheat between 6000 BJC to 2000 BJC. However, distribution of emmer and einkorn from the Geshemi, celestial elves, and the conquests of the Ardat Caliphate led to natural selection of traits that would make 90% of wheat species extinct and the overpopulation of spring and bread wheat. The first identifiable bread wheat has been identified using DNA analysis in samples from cereal grains dating to approximately 2490 BJC at Knossus by the Hanekwa.

From Syltor, wheat continued to spread across the far corners of the world, even to Cymru.