Talk:Quern-stone

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We have been researching prehistoric grain processing techniques for 10 years or more; particularly the malting of grain. This appears to be contemporary with the first cultivation of grains c.10,000 BC in the fertile crescent. The ease of converting malted grains into sugars may have motivated cultivation. Malting is crucial to a proper understanding of the origin of grain agriculture and is a process that has been so far overlooked by archaeologists.

see "Barley, Malt and Ale in the Neolithic" by Merryn Dineley, published 2004, BAR (British Archaeological Reports) International Series S1213.

Graham and Merryn Dineley. (merryn@dineley.com, mgd@dineley.com)

I an a neophyte at this but L. Stague De Camps book on the "Ancient Engineers" from about thirty years ago gives a great view of the impact of the Quern. I hope somebody more acceptant that I can update the site. certainly the quern was instrumental in freeing the farmers from the monopoly of the government flour mills. ----