Ancient bread rises again as Turkey recreates 5,000-year-old loaf
Unearthed more than 5,000 years later, a slice of charred bread is on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum. PHOTO: AFP
ESKISEHIR, Turkey – In the early Bronze Age, a piece of bread was buried beneath the threshold of a newly built house in what is today central Turkey.
Now, more than 5,000 years later, archaeologists have unearthed it, and helped a local bakery to recreate the recipe - with customers lining up to buy it.
Round and flat like a pancake, 12.7cm in diameter, the bread was discovered during excavations at Kulluoba, a site near the central Anatolian city of Eskisehir.
'This is the oldest baked bread to have come to light during an excavation, and it has largely been able to preserve its shape,' said Dr Murat Turkteki, archaeologist and director of the excavation.
'Bread is a rare find during an excavation. Usually, you only find crumbs,' he told AFP.
'But here, it was preserved because it had been burnt and buried,' he said.
The bread was charred and buried under the entrance of a dwelling built around 3,300BC.
A piece had been torn off, before the bread was burnt, then buried when the house was built.
'It makes us think of a ritual of abundance,' Dr Turkteki said.
Moved by this discovery
Unearthed in September 2024, the charred bread has been on display at the Eskisehir Archaeological Museum since May 21 .
'We were very moved by this discovery. Talking to our excavation director, I wondered if we could reproduce this bread,' said the city's mayor, Ms Ayse Unluce .
Analyses showed that the bread was made with coarsely ground emmer flour, an ancient variety of wheat, and lentil seeds, with the leaf of an as yet undetermined plant used as yeast.
Ancient emmer seeds no longer exist in Turkey.
To get as close as possible to the original recipe, the municipality, after analysing the ancient bread, decided to use Kavilca wheat, a variety that is close to ancient emmer, as well as bulgur and lentils.
At the Halk Ekmek bakery (meaning 'People's Bread' in Turkish), promoted by the municipality to offer low-cost bread, employees have been shaping 300 loaves of Kulluoba by hand every day.
'The combination of ancestral wheat flour, lentils and bulgur results in a rich, satiating, low-gluten, preservative-free bread,' said Ms Serap Guler, the bakery's manager.
The first Kulluoba loaves, marketed as 300- gram cakes that cost 50 Turkish lira (S$1.65), sold out within hours.
'I rushed because I was afraid there wouldn't be any left. I'm curious about the taste of this ancient bread,' said customer Suzan Kuru.
Drought resistant
In the absence of written traces, the civilisation of Kulluoba remains largely mysterious.
In the Bronze Age, the Hattians, an Anatolian people who preceded the Hittites, lived in the Eskisehir region.
'Kulluoba was a medium-sized urban agglomeration engaged in commercial activities, crafts, agriculture and mining. There was clearly a certain family and social order,' said archaeologist Deniz Sari.
The rediscovery of the bread has sparked interest in the cultivation of ancient wheats better adapted to drought.
Once rich in water sources, the province of Eskisehir is today suffering from drought.
'We're facing a climate crisis, but we're still growing corn and sunflowers, which require a lot of water,' said Ms Unluce, the local mayor.
'Our ancestors are teaching us a lesson. Like them, we should be moving towards less thirsty crops,' she added.
The mayor wants to revive the cultivation of Kavilca wheat in the region, which is resistant to drought and disease.
'We need strong policies on this subject. Cultivating ancient wheat will be a symbolic step in this direction,' she said.
'These lands have preserved this bread for 5,000 years and given us this gift. We have a duty to protect this heritage and pass it on.' AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
China rolls out major reforms ahead of gaokao, its national college entrance exam
High school students prepare for the National College Entrance Examination, known as gaokao, in Fuyang, Anhui, on May 27. PHOTO: AFP China's national college entrance exam, known as gaokao, will take place from June 7 to 10 and feature several new developments, including the roll-out of exam reforms in eight additional provinces, expanded university enrolment and the launch of new academic majors. In 2025, eight more provincial-level regions will implement the gaokao reforms: Sichuan, Henan, Shanxi, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Qinghai and the Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions. So far, 29 provinces have adopted the reforms. Under the reforms, candidates must take three nationally standardised subjects – Chinese, mathematics and a foreign language – along with one primary elective subject, either physics or history, and two additional electives selected from chemistry, geography, political science and biology. Professor Xiong Bingqi, director of the 21st Century Education Research Institute, said the reforms, launched in 2014, have provided students with greater flexibility in subject selection and aim to place more emphasis on students' individuality and personal interests while establishing a more comprehensive and multi-dimensional evaluation system. 'However, the issue of solely relying on test scores persists. It is necessary to strengthen the reform of comprehensive quality evaluation,' Prof Xiong said. Many universities have expanded enrolment plans in 2025, including Tsinghua University, Peking University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The additional spots, ranging from dozens to several hundred, are primarily concentrated in fundamental disciplines such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, as well as in strategic and cutting-edge fields. Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi province has been expanding its enrolment over the past decade and plans to add 200 more spots in 2025, according to Professor Cao Liangzhi, director of the university's admissions office. 'The focus is primarily on emerging technology industries and fields geared towards the future,' Prof Cao said. 'In response to technological and industrial transformation and upgrading, we aim to cultivate more high-quality talent.' In 2025, China's college admissions introduced 29 new undergraduate majors across fields such as artificial intelligence, carbon neutrality and digital governance. According to the Ministry of Education, these new programmes are designed to align with national strategic priorities, market demands and technological advancements. Beijing Jiaotong University has added five undergraduate majors in fields of national strategic demand, including data science and big data technology, robotics engineering, intelligent manufacturing engineering, intelligent vehicle engineering, and international journalism and communication. The Beijing Institute of Technology has introduced a low-altitude technology and engineering major, focusing on cultivating top-tier talent to meet the strategic needs of low-altitude economic development. Universities are adjusting their programmes to align with social development and meet societal needs, according to Prof Xiong. Around 13.35 million students have registered for 2025's gaokao, a decrease of 70,000 compared with 2024 and marking the first decline in a decade, according to data released by the ministry. The decline in exam candidates is primarily due to a decrease in vocational college entrance exam participants, who are no longer required to take the gaokao, Prof Xiong explained. However, the number of candidates for the regular gaokao has increased, he said. 'It is hoped that universities will expand enrolment based on their unique conditions and strengths, focusing not only on increasing numbers but also on improving quality,' Prof Xiong said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
China really wants to attract talented scientists, Trump just helped
Last week, the Trump administration said it would work to 'aggressively revoke' the visas of Chinese students in 'critical fields'. PHOTO: AFP China really wants to attract talented scientists, Trump just helped HANGZHOU – China was already scoring wins in its rivalry with the United States for scientific talent. It had drawn some of the world's best researchers to its campuses, people decorated with Nobel Prizes, MacArthur 'Genius' grants and seemingly every other academic laurel on offer. Now the Trump administration's policies might soon bolster China's efforts. Under President Donald Trump, the United States is slashing the research funding that helped establish its reputation as the global leader in science and technology. The president is also attacking the country's premier universities, and trying to limit the enrollment of international students. Scientists from China are under particular pressure, as US officials have said that they may pose a national security threat by funneling valuable knowledge to China. Chinese-born scientists have been investigated or even arrested. Last week, the Trump administration said it would work to 'aggressively revoke' the visas of Chinese students in 'critical fields'. As a result, many scholars are looking elsewhere. And Chinese institutions have been quick to try to capitalise. Universities in Hong Kong and Xi'an said they would offer streamlined admission to transfer students from Harvard University. An ad from a group with links to the Chinese Academy of Sciences welcomed 'talents who have been dismissed by the US NIH,' or National Institutes of Health. 'The United States is shooting itself in the foot,' said anatomy expert Zhang Xiaoming, who in 2024 left the Baylor College of Medicine, in Texas, to lead the medical education program at Westlake University, a research university in the tech hub of Hangzhou. 'Since I went to the United States more than 30 years ago, so much of its research has been supported by foreigners, including many Chinese,' said Dr Zhang, who emphasised that he was speaking for himself, not his employer. 'Without foreigners, at least in the field of scientific research, they can't go on.' On its own, China had become more attractive to scientists in recent years because of the huge investments the country has made in research. Westlake is a prime example. Established in 2018 by several high-profile scientists who had returned to China from the West, Westlake's campus exudes technological advancement. A spaceshiplike tower looms over rows of research laboratories. Computing centers and animal testing facilities cluster around a central lawn, in a shape designed to evoke a biological cell. In its main academic building, portraits of dozens of professors are on display – all of whom were recruited from overseas. There is Dr Guan Kunliang, a biochemist who won a MacArthur 'Genius' grant while in Michigan; Dr Cheng Jianjun, a materials engineer honored multiple times by the National Science Foundation; Dr Yu Hongtao, a Harvard-educated cell biologist who received millions in funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Maryland. Recruitment notices advertise high compensation, in line with those at top foreign universities. Westlake has been perhaps the most successful Chinese university at recruiting overseas talent, but it is far from the only one. Between 2010 and 2021, nearly 12,500 scientists of Chinese descent left the United States for China, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The rate of departure was accelerating: More than half of them left in just the five years between 2017 and 2021. The trend has only continued in the past few years, said Professor Yu Xie from Princeton University who co-authored the study. Nor is it only Chinese-born scientists who are jumping ship. Former Harvard chemist Charles Lieber, who was convicted in 2023 of failing to disclose payments from a Chinese university, recently joined Tsinghua University. Chinese scientists have long flocked to American universities, lured by the promise of a world-class education and resources that their home country could not provide. In the 1980s, Chinese scientists who visited the United States would collect disposable test tubes to reuse in China, said neurobiologist Rao Yi at Peking University in Beijing, who studied and worked in the United States for two decades. The admiration continued even as China's economy boomed. In 2020, nearly one-fifth of doctorates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics awarded in the United States went to students from China, according to data from the National Science Foundation. Historically, the vast majority of those doctorates stayed in the United States – 87 per cent between 2005 and 2015, the data showed. Many became US citizens, and they have helped the United States accumulate patents, publications and Nobel Prizes. In recent years, more scientists have been returning to China, drawn partly by government recruitment programs promising them millions of dollars in funding as well as housing subsidies and other perks. China's spending on research and development is now second only to the United States. And Chinese institutions such as Tsinghua and Zhejiang University now routinely rank among the best in the world for science and technology. The investment is part of a plan to turn China into a scientific superpower, especially in strategically important fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and biotechnology. 'The scientific and technological revolution is intertwined with the game between superpowers,' China's leader Xi Jinping said in 2024. At the same time, the United States has been pushing scientists away for years, in particular by investigating their ties with China. Protein chemist Lu Wuyuan, formerly at the University of Maryland, was one of those targeted. He was investigated by the National Institutes of Health for allegedly failing to disclose research ties to China – ties he said Maryland knew about. After 20 years at the university, he quit in 2020. Most of the cases brought under the so-called China Initiative eventually collapsed. Many researchers criticised the campaign as racial profiling. Dr Lu, who now works at Fudan University in Shanghai, said that many of his friends mused about leaving the United States, but most chose to stay because they had settled there. The Trump administration's assault on research funding may change that. 'If they cut so much funding, I believe that may be the last straw for many people,' Dr Lu said. Still, China faces its own issues in poaching talent. It has become harder for Chinese universities to meet and woo overseas scientists, as Chinese scholars have had trouble securing visas to the United States to attend academic conferences. Researchers in America also face restrictions in visiting China; Texas, for example, prohibits employees of public universities from traveling to China for work. The scientists who have returned to China largely fall into a few categories: those who are early in their careers, or who are nearing retirement, or who felt pushed out by investigations. Established midcareer scholars are still reluctant to leave, multiple scientists said. Dr Rao at Peking University, who was also one of Westlake's co-founders, said that China's progress in recruiting international talent had also been hampered by cronyism and jealousy among domestic colleagues. 'While funding should increase, it is not the key factor at this stage,' Dr Rao said. 'Supporting scientists based on merit and their good science is the key.' Even at home, scientists are not spared political scrutiny. Chinese universities face limits on free expression, and China's Ministry of State Security has warned that scholars returning from overseas may be spies. Multiple Chinese-born scientists – both those who had returned to China, and those still in the United States – emphasised that they did not want to get entangled in politics. They were just trying to do good work. The simple fact was, many agreed, that it was increasingly easier to do so in China. 'It's hard to survive in America. And China is developing so fast,' said artificial intelligence researcher Fu Tianfan, 32, who left Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in December 2024 to join Nanjing University. 'Whether it was the best choice,' he said, 'it may take some time to say.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
That cup of coffee may have a long-term perk
A study that followed more than 47,000 women in nursing since the 1970s found coffee to contribute to healthy ageing. PHOTO: AFP Most people who drink coffee appreciate the quick jolt of energy it provides. But in a new study, presented on June 2 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, scientists have found that coffee may offer the much longer-term benefit of healthy ageing. The study has not been peer-reviewed or published, but it was rigorous and included a large number of women who were followed for many years. It also adds to a large body of evidence linking coffee to longer lives and various health advantages, including lower risks of certain chronic diseases – though all of these studies had limitations, including that they were observational and could not prove cause and effect. Still, the results linking coffee to healthier ageing were not surprising, said Dr Fang Fang Zhang, a professor of nutritional epidemiology at Tufts University who was not involved with the study. 'The data is quite consistent that coffee consumption is actually beneficial,' she said. What did the new research find? In the study, researchers followed more than 47,000 female nurses for several decades beginning in the 1970s. Every few years, the women answered detailed questions about their diets, including how much coffee, tea and cola (like Coca-Cola or Pepsi) they typically drank. Then the scientists looked at how many of the women were still alive and met their definition of 'healthy ageing' in 2016. Just over 3,700 women met that definition: They were 70 or older; reported good physical and mental health, with no cognitive impairment or memory problems; and were free of 11 chronic diseases such as cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney failure, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. The researchers found a correlation between how much caffeine the women typically drank (which was mostly from coffee) when they were between 45 and 60 years old and their likelihood of healthy ageing. After adjusting for other factors that could affect ageing, such as their overall diet, how much they exercised and whether they smoked, those who consumed the most caffeine (equivalent to nearly seven 8-ounce cups of coffee per day) had odds of healthy ageing that were 13 per cent higher than those who consumed the least caffeine (equivalent to less than one cup per day). Drinking tea or decaffeinated coffee was not associated with healthy ageing, the researchers found. That may be because the study participants generally consumed less tea and decaffeinated coffee overall, so perhaps there were fewer chances for the researchers to find benefits linked to them, said Dr Sara Mahdavi, an adjunct professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto who led the study. Tea and decaf coffee also have less caffeine, and tea has different plant compounds from regular coffee, so that may explain the results, too, she added. Drinking cola, another potential source of caffeine, was associated with significantly decreased odds of healthy ageing. Dr Mahdavi cautioned that while drinking up to seven small cups of coffee per day was associated with healthy ageing in her study, that doesn't necessarily mean that drinking that much will benefit everyone, or that it is healthy to do so. Research in other groups of people suggests that the health benefits of coffee may plateau or even dip when they drink more than three to four cups per day. What does other research suggest? Many other studies have linked drinking coffee regularly to a lower risk of early death. In a study of more than 46,000 US adults published in May, Dr Zhang and her colleagues found that those who consumed one to three cups of coffee per day were about 15 per cent less likely to die within the next nine to 11 years than those who didn't drink coffee. That benefit disappeared, though, for people who said they typically added more than about a half-teaspoon of sugar to their coffee and for people who added more than 1 gram of saturated fat (equivalent to about one tablespoon of half-and-half or 3.5 tablespoons of whole milk) per cup of coffee. Research has also suggested that people who drink coffee regularly have lower risks of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, liver disease, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. These kinds of studies can't prove cause and effect, said Dr Aladdin Shadyab, an associate professor of public health and medicine at the University of California, San Diego. But because the benefits associated with coffee have been so consistent, it's unlikely that they are entirely explained by other aspects of a person's life, Dr Zhang said. If anything, drinking coffee is often associated with unhealthy habits, like smoking and less exercise. The fact that you see benefits after accounting for these differences means that coffee is probably helping, Dr Zhang said. How might coffee protect your health? Researchers aren't entirely sure why coffee may be beneficial. 'It's a bit of a mystery,' said Dr Marilyn Cornelis, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. Studies of mice have found that caffeine may improve memory and protect brain cells from damage. And human studies have found links between regular (not decaffeinated) coffee and a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. Both regular and decaf coffee contain hundreds of chemical compounds, including many that may lower inflammation and prevent cell damage, Dr Mahdavi said. While the new study didn't find a benefit associated with decaf coffee, other research has linked it, along with regular coffee, to lower rates of Type 2 diabetes and other conditions, Dr Cornelis said. Tea also contains many beneficial compounds, and drinking it has been associated with better heart health and a longer life. What's the takeaway? If you drink coffee regularly, consider the new findings and others like it as good news that it may benefit your health – so long as you don't add too much cream or sugar, Dr Zhang said. But if you don't enjoy coffee, Dr Mahdavi added, there's no need to start drinking it. It can interfere with sleep or make some people feel anxious or jittery. There are plenty of other, more evidence-backed ways to boost your health and longevity, Dr Shadyab added, such as following a balanced diet, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and having an active social life. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
