section_path: Domestication of plants/Spread of crops: the case of barley
section_name: Spread of crops: the case of barley
paragraph_text: Spread of crops: the case of barley
  
  One of the world's most important crops, barley, was domesticated in the Near East around 11,000 years ago (c. 9,000 BCE). Barley is a highly resilient crop, able to grow in varied and marginal environments, such as in regions of high altitude and latitude. Archaeobotanical evidence shows that barley had spread throughout Eurasia by 2,000 BCE. To further elucidate the routes by which barley cultivation was spread through Eurasia, genetic analysis was used to determine genetic diversity and population structure in extant barley taxa. Genetic analysis shows that cultivated barley spread through Eurasia via several different routes, which were most likely separated in both time and space.