by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n
In Bronze Age Europe, the introduction of common millet <\/strong>(Panicum miliaceum),\u00a0a drought-resistant crop, helped transform not only people\u2019s diets but also the way land was used. According to a recent study<\/a> published in Science Advances<\/em>, this crop became part of the diet of populations in south-eastern Poland at the beginning of the 16th century BCE<\/strong>. More than a hundred years earlier than previously estimated.<\/p>\n Its spread, however, does not appear to have been linked to the arrival of new populations. Instead, it was gradually adopted by local communities, which expanded cultivation into land less suitable for traditional cereals<\/strong> such as wheat and barley. The findings also offer valuable insights for the present, as we face climate change and the need to make food systems more resilient.<\/p>\n