"The Fertile Crescent is considered the first of at least seven centers of agriculture origin in the world (Smith 1998). Barley, along with (Tritium spp.), (Pisum sativum L.), (Lens culinaris L.), goat (Capra aegagrus hircus), sheep (Ovis aries), and cow (Bos taurus), set the stage for the evolution of agriculture in the Near East, which eventually spread to North Africa, further east and north in Asia, and to Europe (Smith 1998)."