Lots of the cereal crops do not require much processing. As kids out roaming, my brother and I (and sometimes cousins) would pull the heads off of barley and w

Lots of the cereal crops do not require much processing. As kids out roaming, my brother and I (and sometimes cousins) would pull the heads off of barley and wheat and chew the grains. My dad did it as a kid too, and as surely as I have an ape for an ancient uncle, it didn't start with us. In fact, when you're out hunting (and gathering), you browse for berries, seeds or grains, as and where the plants stand. And maybe you fill your shirt with stuff to take home. Knowledge of planting can come the same way. You notice after years of coming back from a reliable food patch that the plants are now growing right along side the trail, and you realized, "from spilled seeds!" Or that your midden heap has sprouted apple trees. You ate the fruit and tossed the cores in the same place. Its a short logical leap from those observations to deliberately planting patches, then helping things along by clearing ground. Boom, agriculture.