Wadi Kubbaniya

Series of Egyptian Late Palaeolithic sites on the west bank of the River Nile near Aswan. Artifacts include grinding stones, chipped stone tools, mortars and pestles, and domesticated plant remains (wheat, barley) dated to 18,250-16,960 bp. If confirmed by future research, this might be the earliest evidence for cereal cultivation in the world.

Site of the 16th millennium be near Aswan, Egypt, which has yielded remarkably early evidence for the intensive exploitation of cereal foods, at least one species of which is stated to show signs of incipient domestication. Several varieties of grain have been preserved, among which both barley and einkorn wheat have been firmly identified. It is argued that neither crop would have grown wild in the area under the environmental conditions then prevailing, and that the einkorn seeds show physical features indicating cultivation. Enormous numbers of grindstones were preserved at the site, along with typical Nile Valley Late Palaeolithic chipped stone artefacts. If confirmed by future research, this would appear to be the earliest evidence yet available for cereal cultivation anywhere in the world.