Scientists find that Britain was importing wheat 2,000 years before growing it

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published 27 February 2015

Researchers in Britain have found well-preserved fragments of wheat DNA in an ancient peat bog submerged off the Isle of Wight, suggesting that traders brought wheat to the area about 8,000 years ago.

The DNA discovery was well-received by scientists, who say the fragments have given them a much clearer understanding of what happened as hunter-gatherers began growing crops. "The material remains left behind by the people that occupied Britain as it was finally becoming an island 8,000 years ago, show that these were sophisticated people with technologies thousands of years more advanced than previously recognized," says Garry Momber of the Maritime Archaeology Trust.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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