Final answer:
Wheat was one of the first crops domesticated in Southwest Asia, specifically in the Fertile Crescent around 12,000 years ago, alongside barley and the domestication of various animals.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the first crops domesticated in Southwest Asia was wheat. This domestication process began around 12,000 years ago in a region known today as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent stretches from the eastern Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, including parts of what is today northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and western Iran. This region offered ideal conditions for the growth of naturally occurring nutritious staples like barley and wheat, and it also saw the domestication of animals such as goats, sheep, and cows, supporting the transition from hunting and gathering to settled farming life and the rise of early civilizations.