The human relation to food is a complex one. We obviously have to eat to survive, but for the most privileged humans through history, food is something to indulge in for fun rather than a necessity. It is by virtue of the evolutionary gift to humans, the innate intelligence and exploration, that their expanding brain, demanding more nutrition has expanded the varieties of food for a human platter. Climate and environmental changes during the evolution of human ancestors triggered that people optimized the search for food, when the natural resources were dwindling, learned to build fire, improved their cooking skills and technologies, domesticated plants and animals… All these were the contributing factors for humans that expanded the varieties of foods they can eat compared to other animals that eat limited varieties of food.Throughout most of history, we could not transport perishable foods before they would go bad, so people lived on much less variety of food than we do today. People traditionally consumed a diet dominated by whatever starches they were able to grow in their climate creating ethnic cuisines where most dishes were made up of a small number of common, inexpensive ingredients. However, with the creations of states and empires the production of food, and most important trade with food, changed dramatically. Not only staple foods but the luxurious products, hard to obtain and difficult to trade before going bad, linking the most remote corners of the world.

Production and distribution of sufficient supplies of food are some of the most basic challenges faced by any human society in the past. Organization and efficient food production supporting populations in villages, towns and cities was the main preoccupation of past societies. Together with trade (and warfare), food production constituted the essential elements of human social progress. Science and technology played an increasingly important role in food production through history, but also in the processes of food preservation for later consumption.

When speaking about food trade one first thinks about the tea and spice trade, processes that shaped global modern political and economic history, or the unidirectional export of wine and olive oil in the ancient Mediterranean. Though let us not forget about the oldest and most arborescent network that connected ancient societies – the salt trade. Salt has been in high demands for centuries. It did not only flavour food, it was used to preserve it and also as an antiseptic. It was not easy to harvest, so areas rich with salt became big trading centres connecting other centres of power. It was so scarce and precious that part of a Roman soldier’s pay was in salt.

The traditional and symbolic heart of the home, the kitchen is inextricably linked with humankind’s discovery of cooking food with fire. Using fire for food preparation was a central culinary breakthrough. In antiquity, fire was sacred. A kitchen had an altar place for prayers and offerings to the kitchen god. A great range of food and foodstuffs is available for most kitchens and the size of the kitchen or complexity of tools does not dictate the quality or complexity of the cuisine. Some flavours are more palatable, and some foods are made edible when cooked. The designs of hearths and ovens and the locations of kitchens through the millennia document the evolution of ancient kitchens. Several related and important areas were located near ancient kitchens, including the pantry, orchard, garden, spice and medicinal herb garden, larder, icehouse, and root cellar. Out of necessity in addition to cooking, ancient civilizations preserved foods by smoking, drying, salting, and storing in syrups and fat. Foods were often stored with a topping of oil to keep air out.