New Evidence-The Oldest Use of Spices

[Andy M.]

I came across this article today and thought it would be interesting:


Ancient Pottery Fragments Show That Prehistoric Humans Used Spices Too | Surprising Science

[purple.alien.giraffe]

That's really cool. I wonder if they used them as spices in the sense that we do now or if they just used the entire mustard plant as part of their food supply and that included the seeds.

[Hoot]

It is quite interesting! I am constantly amazed by the artifacts that somehow survive the ravages of time. I am also continually amazed by the technology in use to examine and analyze these finds. The last paragraph made me smile. Sometimes modern man assumes too much....I suspect ancient man used spices frequently, whether they contributed to their caloric intake or not. Now, there is proof.

[pacanis]

Interesting.

[Kylie1969]

Interesting read, thanks Andy

[Mad Cook]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

I came across this article today and thought it would be interesting:


Ancient Pottery Fragments Show That Prehistoric Humans Used Spices Too | Surprising Science

Well, you can't eat a whole woolly mammoth in one meal however big your tribe, so I expect they had to preserve the leftovers somehow and, without freezing and canning, spices were the next best thing. I suppose they also learned very quickly that spices and herbs jollied up an otherwise boring diet to say nothing of slightly high meat.

The spicy food of the Subcontinent and SE Asia was originally about helping to keep food in a hot climate as much as just for flavour.

Ain't it wonderful how scientists "discover" things that cooks have known for centuries.

[Alex-Peter]

wow that's really great