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Why did Linnaeus name the wheats Triticum?

September 14, 2001

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Killer Picks: Discovery Whodunit? Forensics Lab & Iceman: Hunt for a Killer DVD—>Click here:

In German, it is called einkorn, meaning one grain. It is the wild wheat. Five thousand years ago, Otzi (the Iceman) ate a meal of unleavened einkorn bread and carrying a bow and arrows, disappeared in the Alps. His body wasn't found until 1991 on the Austrian-Italian border. He was a Neolithic man and contrary to popular belief, this Stone Age man was a vegetarian. But we have no idea what Otzi may have called this wheat.

Otzi (the Iceman): Hunt for a Killer DVD
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Wheat has been cultivated for so long and has so many varieties that names became lost or evolved to different words as the grain spread from the Middle East to Europe, Asia, and Africa. Some of the first written texts about "corn" (wheat and barley) are in the Epic of Gilgamesh dating to 4,000 B.C. Even then, the people of Uruk had stored up seven years' worth of grain against famine.

The common name, wheat, came from Old English "hwaete". Germanic tribes probably grew "weizen" far longer than the English. Weizen is believed to have derived from the Old German "hwiz", meaning white, as opposed to the dark grains like rye.

The Romans grew several species of wheat, but the species they used for bread, they called "triticum". Linnaeus was educated in the classics and to honor their great civilization, he kept the Roman name when he classified the wheats as genus Triticum. The particular wheat used for bread, he named Triticum aestivum or the bread wheat of summer.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has published an article, "The First Farmers", about agriculture in the Middle East and the spread of wheat. To view this article, click on the link:

http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/orig_agri_tur.html

Discovery Whodunit? Forensics Lab

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Six intriguing cases introduce your child to forensics – the science of fighting crime.

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Analyze handwriting, decipher blood type and examine mysterious fibers in your search for the truth. It's engaging, challenging and great fun! Discovery Whodunit? Forensics Lab, Click here.

Iceman: Hunt for a Killer DVD

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Watch as the story of Otzi the Iceman – first revealed in Discovery's Ultimate Guide: Iceman – takes a murderous turn. Discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991, the Stone Age body of Otzi is the oldest, best-preserved mummy on Earth. But the details of this cold case, frozen in time for eons, are only now beginning to thaw. Questions surrounding the arrowhead found lodged in Otzi's back lead to an investigation of the oldest, unsolved homicide in history. Just who was Otzi's killer? And, why was he murdered?

Follow the trail to the snowy drifts where Otzi was found. Dr. Edward Egarter, Otzi's caretaker, along with Alois Pirpammer, one of the first people to discover the prehistoric mummy, scour the crime scene for clues. A crude knife is found at the site – a knife whose blade perfectly matches the long, deep wound found on Otzi's right hand. Could this be related to the attack from the bowman?

Back at the lab, experts focus on the telling arrowhead embedded in Otzi's left shoulder. Special 3D scans made of Otzi's body give scientists an exact image of the stone weapon. By matching the characteristics of the arrowhead with archaeological records of similar weapons, Dr. Egarter is able to pinpoint the valley from which it originated – revealing that Otzi and his killer did not live far from each other. Further examination of the arrowhead removes suspicion of accidental death – the arrowhead's triangular shape matches those used by ancient, expert marksmen determined to make a sure kill. That, coupled with the killer's precise aim, proves one thing: This was no accident. Iceman: Hunt for a Killer DVD, Click here.