User:Yicozhou/sandbox

The history of lentil in Europe has deep roots and many related factors. This plant of the Legume family, which is known to humanity since prehistoric times firstly was met in the Southern parts of the Old World. Lentils can be rightly considered as one of the oldest legumes, which appeared along with wheat and barley in ancient Greece. Some archaeologists usually mention lentils as old Mediterranean plants, which were known for its medical properties in ancient times.

First Mention

The historical background of lentils in Europe is tightly related to the early development of people on concrete territories. “The oldest archaeological remains of lentil in Europe are from the Franchthi cave in Greece, dated to 11,000 BC” (Ljuština & Mikiæ 26). Moreover, lentils were widely known through the ancient world since its remains were also found in prehistoric surroundings of Switzerland and ancient Egyptian settlements in the Old World.

Relation to Asia

One of the first deposits of lentils is considered to be India and the nations of the Middle East, where seedlings with seeds were found. Right after the countries of the Indian subcontinent discovered multiple useful properties of the plant, it was brought to Western Europe through Georgia, which was on the trade way between the Old World and Asia. The spread of lentils throughout Europe increased due to the continued popularity as it was promptly assimilated into the kitchens of different countries.

Arrival and Domestication

Lentils have been considered significant since ancient times, as it was begun to be domesticated about 9000 years ago and this trend continues in the modern world. “The region of origin encompasses southeastern Turkey, and northern Syria, including the sources of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and cultivation, spread to Cyprus and, via the Danube, to Europe around 7000 years ago” (Rashid, Gonzalez, Young & Wink). The discovery of the human-made places and its habitat throughout Europe concerns genetic similarity in different places. “Much larger populations of this species were found in primary habitats in SE Spain, S Italy and along the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia” (Ladizinsky, Braun, Muehlbauer). Furthermore, lentils were cultivated not only in southern Europe and hot North Africa region, such countries as Switzerland, the Middle East, Germany, and France also accepted this agricultural plant for different needs.

Further Spreading

After the arrival of lentils in Europe, it became widely used, cultivated, and processed throughout the most territory of the Old World. However, Europe took part in the further spreading of the plant to other continents. Thus, “lentils were introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century” (O’Hara). Despite the fact that lentils did not remain in American cuisine till nowadays, Canada is one of the most powerful producers of this corp nowadays thanks to European voyagers. According to the article “Production potential of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) in East Africa” by Ghanem, Marrou, and Biradar it can be argued that East Africa has the potential to expand the cultivation of lentils. That is the outcome of the rather aggressive Europeans invasion throughout the whole Africa in the middle ages, what can lead postponing of the crops to increased yield on this continent even in the current times.

Reasons, why Lentil Became Popular in Europe

Consumption

Nutritional lentils are often mentioned in the Old Testament as were used in baking bread from chopped lentils. “In Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries, the parched seeds are sold in shops and are esteemed the best food to carry on long journeys” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Based on such information and due to high nutritional properties and useful substances, the chewing stone has conquered the sales market in the legume family in Europe. Nowadays, as in the early times, lentils found its wide appliance in different dishes. Thus, after this legume got into the French cuisine, it quickly became one of the most frequently used ingredients of the French bistro.

Medical use

One of the reasons why lentils came and were successful in early Europe is their treaty features. Among them a is the full range of trace elements, which found their appliance in medical practices. Thus, early European medicine denotes that lentils are considered a high antioxidant and helps to fight against “diabetes, cancer and Cardiovascular disease (CVDs) prevalence” (Aslani, Alipour, Mirmiran, and Bahadoran). However, there are also warnings about the use of lentils as it “may cause flatulence and constipation” (Ware). Therefore, physicians recommend drinking more water and controlling the amount of fiber in the diet. Those legumes also were advised in consumption with “beets, vinegar, and barley to treat abscesses, ulcers, gangrene, gout, and sore throat” (Flint-Hamilton 376). Even Hippocrates and many of his followers advised the use of lentils against ulcers and hernias.

Agricultural Aspects

As Western Asia widely used lentils in turn with cereals and used as a feed for ruminants, the same reasons facilitated the dissemination of the plant in the Old World. It is worth to denote that the ability of lentils to grow on poor soils and in unfavorable conditions gives it an advantage in European countries with a dry climate. Such conditions were rather similar to “the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa, where it is a dietary mainstay” (Ferguson & Erskine), what made the plant somewhat famous on the European kitchens.

Works Cited

Aslani Z., Alipour B., Mirmiran P. and Bahadoran Z. “Lentil’s (Lens culinaris L.) functional properties in prevention and treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases: A review.” International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 2015, p. 15.

Ferguson M. and Erskine W. “Plant Genetic Resources of Legumes in the Mediterranean.” Springer, 2001, p. 125, link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-015-9823-1_7.

Flint-Hamilton K. B., “Legumes in Ancient Greece and Rome: Food, Medicine, or Poison?” Hesperia, Vol. 68, No. 3., Jul. - Sep., 1999, pp. 371-385.

Ghanem M., Marrou H. and Biradar C. “Production potential of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) in East Africa.” Agricultural Systems, 13 March 2015, p. 37.

Ladizinsky G., Braun D., Muehlbauer F. J. “Evidence for domestication of Lens nigricans (M. Bieb.) Godron in S Europe.” Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, V. 87, 13 May 2008, pp. 169-176, doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8339.1983.tb00988.x.

Ljuština M. and Mikiæ A. Archaeological Evidence of the Domestication of Lentil (Lens culinaris) and Its Distribution in Europe. University of Belgrade, 2010, p.26.

O’Hara, Julie. “Lentils: A Legume For The Ages.” NPR.Org, 7 Jan. 2009, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99054419.

Rashid M. H., Gonzalez J., Young P. & Wink M. “Rhizobium Leguminosarum is the Symbiont of Lentils in the Middle East and Europe but not in Bangladesh.” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, V. 87, 1 Jan. 2014, pp. 64–77, doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12190.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Lentil.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013, www.britannica.com/plant/lentil-plant.

Ware M. “Lentils: Health benefits and nutritional information.” Medical News Today, 21 Jun. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/297638.php.

Yi- Adding to the LENTIL article under the section HISTORY makes perfect sense since there is very little there as of now. Your sources are quite good. We are concerned with the logical flow of your article. You need to begin with a statement about the general history. You have some direct quotes from your sources but they seem to be out of context. For example "One of the final research questions relates to the relevance of growing and distributing lentils around the world". What you have reads like quick summaries of articles without actually a historical thread throughout. You might benefit from the Writing Center.

Peer Review from Zikun Yu:

The information is neutral. However, it does not add to Wiki page. It looks like an essay without sections. Maybe it is better to break up the paragraph into different sections so it's easier to follow the information flow. Also the links should be added in wiki format instead of essay citation.

Peer Review from Joseph Zeleke: There is a multitude of important information on this addition to the Lentil article, but I would advise that you try and condense the material. I believe the goal is to make sure to add only information that the article needs without filler. I think you have the hard part of gathering sources down though, now it is just a matter of picking information that is necessary.

Lentil

Lentils as one of the plants of the legume family, which is known to humanity since prehistoric times. Lentils can be rightly considered one of the oldest legumes, which appeared along with wheat and barley in ancient Greece. Archaeologists usually mention lentils as old Mediterranean plants. Even in ancient times, the sages explored the medical properties of lentils and advised to mix lentil with “beets, vinegar, and barley to treat abscesses, ulcers, gangrene, gout, and sore throat” (Flint-Hamilton 376). In addition, Hippocrates and many of his followers advised the use of lentils against ulcers and hernias.

The central aspect to pay attention to is the historical background of the study of lentils. “The oldest archaeological remains of lentil in Europe are from the Franchthi cave in Greece, dated to 11,000 BC” (Ljuština & Mikiæ 26). Moreover, lentils were widely known in through the ancient world since its remains were also found in prehistoric surroundings of Switzerland and ancient Egyptian settlements. Nutritional lentils are often mentioned in the Old Testament, and the ancient Egyptians baked bread from chopped lentils.

Lentils have been considered significant since ancient times, as it was begun to be domesticated about 9000 years ago and this trend continues in the modern world. “The region of origin encompasses southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, including the sources of the rivers Tigris and Euphrates and cultivation spread to Cyprus and, via the Danube, to Europe around 7000 years ago” (Rashid, Gonzalez, Young & Wink). The spread of lentils throughout the world continued in Georgia and further in the Indian subcontinent. An important issue in the study of the history of lentils is the discovery of human-made places of its habitat throughout Europe. “Much larger populations of this species were found in primary habitats in SE Spain, S Italy and along the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia” (Ladizinsky, Braun, Muehlbauer). Most of the found lentil populations were genetically the same in all countries.

One of the first deposits of lentils is also considered to be India and the nations of the Middle East, where seedlings with seeds were found. After the countries of the Middle East, lentils were brought to Western Europe, where it promptly assimilated into the kitchens of different countries. Thus, lentils got into the French cuisine and quickly became one of the most frequently used ingredients of the French bistro. In addition, “lentils were introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century” (O’Hara). However, lentils did not remain in American cuisine till nowadays.

One more vital information is concerned the arrival of lentils in Europe, where it became widely used, cultivated and processed. Furthermore, lentils were cultivated not only in Europe, and in North Africa, Switzerland, the Middle East, Germany, and France. “In Egypt, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries, the parched seeds are sold in shops and are esteemed the best food to carry on long journeys” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). Based on the information mentioned above, due to high nutritional properties and useful substances, the chewing stone has conquered the sales market in the legume family.

Except that lentils are rich in trace elements, unpretentious in the soil and growing in a dry climate it also has medicinal properties. Medicine denotes that lentils are considered a high antioxidant and helps to fight against “diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) prevalence” (Aslani, Alipour, Mirmiran, and Bahadoran). However, there are also warnings about the use of lentils as it “may cause flatulence and constipation” (Ware). Therefore, physicians recommend drinking more water and controlling the amount of fiber in the diet.

One of the final research questions relates to the relevance of growing and distributing lentils around the world. It is worth to denote that the ability of lentils to grow on poor soils and in unfavorable conditions gives it an advantage in European countries with a dry climate “particularly in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa where it is a dietary mainstay” (Ferguson & Erskine). Besides, in Western Asia lentils are also grown in turn with cereals and used as a feed for ruminants.

The final issue of the study relates to the cultivation of lentils nowadays in Africa. According to the article “Production potential of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) in East Africa” by Ghanem, Marrou and Biradar it can be argued that East Africa has the potential to expand the cultivation of lentils. Moreover, postponing the crops can also lead to increased yield in Africa.

Sources: