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Rice was known to the Classical world, being imported from Egypt, and perhaps west Asia. It was known to Greece (where it is still cultivated in Macedonia and Thrace) by returning soldiers from Alexander the Great's military expedition to Asia. Large deposits of rice from the first century AD have been found in Roman camps in Germany. [35]
Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa.
Oryza sativa, having the common name Asian cultivated rice, [2] is the much more common of the two rice species cultivated as a cereal, the other species being O. glaberrima, African rice. It was first domesticated in the Yangtze River basin in China 13,500 to 8,200 years ago.
Helmeted guinea fowl in tall grass. Many foods were originally domesticated in West Africa, including grains like African rice, Pearl Millet, Sorghum, and Fonio; tree crops like Kola nut, used in Coca-Cola, and Oil Palm; and other globally important plant foods such as Watermelon, Tamarind, Okra, Black-eye peas, and Yams. [2]
The principal rice-producing countries are in East and South Asia. Where rice originated has always been a hot point of debate between India and China, as both countries started cultivating it around the same time (according to numerous history books and records). Muslims brought rice to Sicily in the 9th century.
Asian rice was domesticated 8,200–13,500 years ago in China, with a single genetic origin from the wild rice Oryza rufipogon, [7] in the Pearl River valley region of China. Rice cultivation then spread to South and Southeast Asia.
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Cereals remained the most important staple during the Early Middle Ages as rice was introduced to Europe late, with the potato first used in the 16th century, and much later for the wider population. Barley , oats , and rye were eaten by the poor while wheat was generally more expensive.