Cereals, in the narrower sense, are cultivated forms of sweet grasses (Poaceae). The origins of agricultural cultivation of many cereal genera can no longer be determined. The cultivation and breeding of cereals have been historically documented in the Near East (Fertile Crescent) as having been practiced for more than 10,000 years. The first cultivated cereal species were einkorn, emmer, and barley. It spread to Central and Western Europe about 7,000 years ago. Cereals refer, on one hand, to the plants of the grass family that are cultivated for their grain fruits, and on the other hand, to the harvested grain fruits themselves. The fruits serve as staple food for human nutrition or as animal feed, as well as a raw material for the production of luxury goods and technical products. Reprint of the original edition from 1913.