GRAIN
Cereal grains were some of the first domesticated plants, and are the most important staple foods throughout the world. Cereal grains are the least expensive source of calories for human consumption.
At sites in Jordan near the Dead Sea, archaeoligists have uncovered remains of four structures used to store grains about 11,300 years ago (9,300 BC) - 1,000 years before domesticated plants were known to be cultivated there. This is the oldest known evidence for systematic storage of wild grains. It is believed that hunter-gatherers sowed wild seeds in fields and stored the surplus for 1,000 to 2,000 years before domesticated species appeared. The would have made it possible to establish permanent communities before cultivation of domesticated plants began. (Science News 7/18/2009)
Grains, also called cereal or cereal grains, are the seeds or fruits of various plants in the grass family, and include wheat, corn, rice, barley, oats, millet, rye, sorghum, and triticale.
Some other seeds that are not grasses, but are usually characterized as grains are buckwheat, quinoa, and wild rice.
A grain elevator in Hutchinson, Kansas is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels in its 1,000 bins.
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