Final answer:
Evidence for the domestication of wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent includes archaeological finds of grains, farming tools, and early Neolithic city remains, along with the adoption of cultivation techniques in surrounding regions, indicating a shift from foraging to sedentary agricultural societies.
Step-by-step explanation:
The evidence for the origin of wheat and barley in the Fertile Crescent is multifaceted. Archaeological findings suggest that around 10,000 BCE, these grains were first domesticated in a region encompassing modern-day northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, western Iran, Syria, and Israel. The Fertile Crescent, known for its crescent shape and rich, arable land, includes Mesopotamia, southern Anatolia, and the Levant. This area also saw the rise of early Neolithic cities like Jericho and Çatalhöyük, which had sophisticated agricultural systems for cultivating crops such as wheat and barley. Evidence includes remnants of cultivated grains, tools used for farming, and the stratigraphy showing changes in plant species over time due to human intervention.
Furthermore, archaeological sites such as Mehrgarh in present-day Pakistan provide additional evidence of ancient farming practices, including barley cultivation techniques, which may have been adopted from or shared with the Near East. The diverse crops and the domestication of animals in this region offer insights into the development of agriculture. The transition from hunting and gathering to farming enabled the early inhabitants to produce surpluses, which in turn supported the growth of civilizations in the Fertile Crescent and beyond.