<P> The earliest human attempts at plant domestication occurred in the Middle East . There is early evidence for conscious cultivation and trait selection of plants by pre-Neolithic groups in Syria: grains of rye with domestic traits have been recovered from Epi - Palaeolithic (c . 11,050 BCE) contexts at Abu Hureyra in Syria, but this appears to be a localised phenomenon resulting from cultivation of stands of wild rye, rather than a definitive step towards domestication . </P> <P> By 10,000 BCE the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) plant, used as a container before the advent of ceramic technology, appears to have been domesticated . The domesticated bottle gourd reached the Americas from Asia by 8000 BCE, most likely due to the migration of peoples from Asia to America . </P> <P> Cereal crops were first domesticated around 9000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East . The first domesticated crops were generally annuals with large seeds or fruits . These included pulses such as peas and grains such as wheat . The Middle East was especially suited to these species; the dry - summer climate was conducive to the evolution of large - seeded annual plants, and the variety of elevations led to a great variety of species . As domestication took place humans began to move from a hunter - gatherer society to a settled agricultural society . This change would eventually lead, some 4000 to 5000 years later, to the first city states and eventually the rise of civilization itself . </P> <P> Continued domestication was gradual, a process of intermittent trial and error . Over time perennials and small trees including the apple and the olive were domesticated . Some plants, such as the macadamia nut and the pecan, were not domesticated until recently . </P>

Where were the early centers of crop domestication