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An interdisciplinary research project on the development of the earliest forms of agriculture shows that early farming societies began to integrate new cereal varieties into their range of crops almost 7,000 years ago. A research team led by Professor Dr. Silviane Scharl, Dr. Astrid Röpke (both from the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Cologne) and Professor Dr. Astrid Stobbe (Goethe University Frankfurt am Main) gained deeper insights into the underlying processes and defined a more precise time frame for these innovations in agriculture.

The results of the study "Dynamics of early agriculture—multivariate analysis of changes in crop cultivation and farming practices in the Rhineland (Germany) between the 6th and early 4th millennium BCE" have been in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The study is a result of the interdisciplinary research project Diversification and Change—Analyzing settlement patterns and agricultural practice during the 5th millennium BC in Central Europe. The project involves scientists from the Universities of Cologne and Frankfurt working in the fields of prehistoric archaeology, archaeobotany, vegetation history, archaeozoology and dendroarchaeology.

The first farmers in Central Europe belonged to the so-called Linear Pottery culture and populated the continent around 5,400–5,000/4,900 BC. They cultivated almost exclusively the ancient wheat varieties emmer and einkorn, both spelt grains. During dehulling, the outer husk must be removed from the grain before further processing. It was previously known that new cereals such as naked wheat (no dehulling required) and barley were introduced during the Neolithic period, more precisely during the so-called Middle Neolithic (approx. 4,900 to 4,500 BC), although the time frame and exact processes were previously unknown.

In order to better understand these processes at a regional level, the research team collected and analyzed data on archaeobotanical macroremains from 72 Neolithic sites in the Rhineland (Germany). The samples consist of charred remains of seeds that date from the late 6th to the early 4th millennium BC. They were recovered from the settlement pits of Neolithic farmers.

Using multivariate statistics, it was possible to show that there are significant differences between the Neolithic phases. Surprisingly, the study revealed that the agricultural changes characteristic of the Middle Neolithic were already recognizable at the beginning of this period.

"The integration of new types of grain made agriculture more resilient and flexible. It enabled not only the cultivation of winter crops, but also summer crops and the potential use of a greater variety of soils, as well as a possible reduction in labor," says Professor Scharl.

A steady increase in cereal diversity was also demonstrated by a diversity analysis. This analysis shows that the Neolithic farmers achieved the greatest diversity in the cultivation spectrum around 4,350 BC. It then declines again significantly, indicating a further transformation of the agricultural system, which is the subject of further research. There are some indications that livestock farming, especially cattle farming, increased in the following period.

The current study shows that Neolithic farmers developed agricultural techniques and practices over time that allowed them to react to regional and changing environmental conditions with great flexibility. In regions with harsher environmental conditions, cereals were cultivated that could also produce a yield under these conditions. This demonstrates a deep knowledge of the environment and an adaptation of food production strategies by the farmers.