Some archeologists determined that one of the first oat harvests was in the Middle Eastern region of the Mediterranean Sea, for reason of rich soil and ease of access to water for irrigation.
Some of the first evidence of oats was found in ancient Egypt. The history of oats is somewhat clouded because there are so many different species and subspecies, which makes identification of old remains very difficult.
Oats appear to have been domesticated from the world grasses native to the mountainous are running from the southern border of Turkey of the Soviet Union with Afghanistan. Oats are better able to withstand harsh growing conditions than wheat and barley. This made oats a valuable grain for feeding the poor who live in disadvantage regions.
The chief modern center of greatest variety of forms is in Asia Minor where most all subspecies are in contact with each other. Many feel that the area with the greatest diversity of types is most likely where a particular plant originated. Historians suggested that oat culture expanded to the north from its Asia Minor centre of origin as a weed mixture in cultivated emmer and einkorn, which are less adapted to northern latitudes than oats and died out while oats thrived in the new environment.
History of oats in Middle East
