Historiography

Through trial and error, early humans collected wisdom as to what foods could safely be eaten and how they could best be prepared. Throughout most of human history, this storehouse of life-or-death information was passed down orally from generation to generation. Because of the universal importance of food, it comes as no surprise that humankind’s earliest writings attempted to record this culinary heritage. Sumerians, for instance, recorded recipes on clay tablets, and Egyptians registered divers recipes in hieroglyphics on the walls of their tombs and temples.