Since wheat is one of the major crops grown in Sherman County, Oregon, it is not surprising to find a series of displays in the award-winning Sherman County Historical Museum to explain the history of wheat farming.
Wheat was originally domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, an area which extended from the Nile Valley in Egypt to Mesopotamia in the Middle East. By 8000 BCE, archaeological evidence shows that the people living at Abu Hureyra in what is now Syria were raising domesticated einkorn wheat, emmer wheat, barley, and rye. By 6000 BCE, they were raising bread wheat. Gary Crawford, in his entry on domestication of plants in The Oxford Companion to Archaeology, reports:
“…bread wheat evolved as a result of a cross between emmer (and it is not known if it was wild or domesticated emmer) and goat grass (Triticum tauschii).”
In the English language, before spelling was standardized wheat was spelled many ways: hwaete, wheitt, qwet, qwhete, wheytt, wheet, quheit, whyt, and wheate.
Ancient Wheat Farming
Wheat was one of the earliest plants domesticated by humans.
According to the display:
“In the Old World all grains were lumped into the generic term ‘corn,’ and thus the name Corn Dollies for straw shapes associated with the harvest festivals.
In the earliest civilizations, abstract shapes, religious symbols and rough human figures were formed from the last sheaf of grain—wheat, oats, rye or barley—gathered in the field.”
Modern Wheat Farming
Today, wheat farming is as much science as art.
According to the display:
“Titration is a technique used to determine the quantity of a substance based on its chemical reaction with another substance. The reaction may be characterized by a sharp change in the solution acidity.”
Museums 101
Museums 101 is a series of photo diaries of museum displays. For many people, museums are away of bringing the past to life and helping to understand the present. More from this series:
Museums 101: An Outdoor Collection of Farm Equipment (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Farm House (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Some Farm Equipment at Fort Steele (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: A Collection of Farm Equipment (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Anderson Homestead (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Second Floor of the Anderson Homestead (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Homestead Cabin and Barn (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Ranch and Sawmill (Photo Diary)