PodcastTurkey’s ancient Çatalhöyük site reveals discovery of world’s oldest bread
During the excavation of a furnace structure at the historic Çatalhöyük site in central Turkey, archaeologists uncovered bread remnants dating back 8,600 years.
Duvar English
Samples of bread remains dating back 8,600 years have been unearthed at the ancient Çatalhöyük site in Konya, Central Anatolia.
"Based on the observation, analysis and dating of this reliquiae, we can say that this find at Çatalhöyük is the oldest bread in the world," Ali Umut Türkcan, associate professor at Anadolu University and head of the excavation committee, told the state-run Anadolu Agency on March 5.
"It is a slimmed-down version of a bread loaf. It has a finger pressed in the center. It hasn’t been baked but has been fermented. Together with the starches inside, it has survived to the present day," Türkcan said, noting that no other examples of bread, textiles, woodworks, and paintings like those at Çatalhöyük have been found elsewhere in the world.
The ancient Çatalhöyük site, a UNESCO World Heritage site discovered in 1958, has provided unique insights into Neolithic and Chalcolithic era settlements dating back to approximately 7400 BC.