By Tim Lambert Early Condiments Since ancient times people have used condiments to enhance their food. The first condiment was salt. Salt has always been used both as a preservative and to enhance the flavor of food. Vinegar has also been used since ancient times. Its name is probably derived from the French words vin… Continue reading A History of Condiments
Category: Daily Life in the Past
A History of Dentistry
By Tim Lambert Early Dentistry In Sumer (now Iraq) in 2000 BC, people believed that tooth decay was caused by worms. This strange belief carried on in the West until the Tudor Times. The Etruscans an ancient civilization that existed in Italy after 800 BC, were excellent dentists. They made false teeth from human or… Continue reading A History of Dentistry
A History of Dogs
By Tim Lambert Early Dogs Dogs are man’s best friends. Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated, and they have been companions and helpers ever since. About 40,000 years ago, wolves began to live with humans. At that time, people were hunter-gatherers. Some wolves may have gone to their camps looking for scraps. In… Continue reading A History of Dogs
A History of Easter
By Tim Lambert Nobody is sure where the name Easter came from. The Anglo-Saxon name for April was Eostermunath. But we don’t know why April was called that. According to a Saxon scholar called Bede the month was named after a goddess called Eostre. But no other writer ever mentioned such a goddess and there… Continue reading A History of Easter
A History of Education
By Tim Lambert Education in Ancient Egypt Most children in Egypt did not go to school. Instead, boys learned farming or other trades from their fathers. Girls learned sewing, cooking, and other skills from their mothers. Boys from wealthy families sometimes learned to be scribes. They learned by copying and memorizing, and discipline was strict.… Continue reading A History of Education
A History of Electricity
By Tim Lambert Who Invented Electricity? No single person invented electricity. Many people made discoveries and inventions. However, in 1819, a Dane, Hans Christian Oersted discovered that an electric current in a wire caused a nearby compass needle to move. The Englishman Michael Faraday (1791-1867) showed that a magnet can produce electricity. In 1831 Faraday… Continue reading A History of Electricity
A History of Fabrics
By Tim Lambert The first clothing materials were simply animal skins. About 35,000 years ago modern humans entered Europe. (They are sometimes called Cro-Magnons). The Cro-Magnons made warm clothes such as trousers, coats, and boots from animal skins using bone needles. Linen fabric dating to about 8,000 BC has been found in Switzerland. From about… Continue reading A History of Fabrics
A History of Food
By Tim Lambert Ancient Food Food in Ancient Egypt For most people in ancient Egypt, food was plain and dull. The staple food of the Egyptians was bread and beer. The bread was baked outside and because of the desert sand was often blown into the dough. In time eating bread with grains of sand… Continue reading A History of Food
A History of Fruits
By Tim Lambert Almonds Almonds are native to western Asia. They are mentioned in the Bible, and the Egyptians grew them. The Romans grew almonds, and they have been popular ever since. Apple The apple has been grown for thousands of years. It was well-known in Ancient China and Egypt. Apples were also known to… Continue reading A History of Fruits
A History of Furniture
By Tim Lambert Prehistoric Furniture When people learned to farm and lived in permanent settlements they began to make furniture. In Europe, some of the earliest known furniture comes from a stone-age village at Sara Brae in the Orkney Islands in Scotland about 2,000 BCE. The Stone Age farmers lived in stone huts with roofs… Continue reading A History of Furniture