Rye History & Culture

• The History of Rye Cultivation in Europe. Karl Ernst Behre. 1992

Provides a history of rye cultivation from wild seeds in Anatolia in the early Neolithic Era. Tracks its movement and domestication northwards to central and eastern Europe through the Roman period.

• The Beginnings of Rye (Secale cereale) Cultivation in the East Baltics. Mindaugas Grikpėdis and Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė. 2016.

Uses pollen and historical grain samples to identify when rye became a staple food crop in the Eastern Baltic region of Europe.

• How Ancient People Fell in Love with Bread, Beer and Other Carbs. Andrew Curry. 2021.

Studying archeological sites in modern-day Turkey to learn how early grains became a dietary staple in prehistoric societies in the Middle East.

• The “Coalition of ‘Rye and Iron’” Under the Pressure of Globalization: A reinterpretation of Germany’s political economy before 1914. Cornelius Torp. 2010.

• The Kingdom of Rye. Darra Goldstein. 2022.

A history of Slavic food and culture shaped by hunger, climate, and politics.