World’s Oldest Bread Found in Turkey, Dating Back 8,600 Years

Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed what they claim to be the "oldest bread in the world," dating back a staggering 8,600 years to 6600 BC, as reported by CNN. The discovery sheds light on ancient culinary practices and offers insights into the diets of early civilizations.

The bread, described as a palm-sized, round, "spongy" residue, was found alongside wheat, barley, and pea seeds near an oven structure at the archaeological site of Catalhoyuk in the southern Turkish province of Konya, according to a press release by Turkey's Necmettin Erbakan University Science and Technology Research and Application Center (BITAM).

Archaeologist Ali Umut Turkcan, head of the Excavation Delegation and an associate professor at Anadolu University in Turkey, hailed the find as unprecedented, stating, "We can say that this find at Catalhoyuk is the oldest bread in the world," as quoted by Turkish state news outlet Anadolu Agency.