The Lost Culinary History of Earth

Abstract

The year is 4016 and 1262 years ago the population of Earth was brought together in a collection of centralized cities in Northern America. The rest of Earth was left abandoned, to slowly rot and be reclaimed by whatever nature humanity had left behind. Human culture has changed dramatically since this time as the population has reduced and resources have become more and more limited.   But what can these abandoned human cities tell us about the people who came many years before us? How different were they from us in their beliefs, fears and legends and what rituals and myths did they keep surrounding food? In this research project, I aim to discover and explore aspects of ancient human culture through remnants of food packaging and recipes found by archaeologists at various sites of ruined cities across the world.

Source 1

Remnants of 'Snack' Packaging

Many archaeologists have uncovered remnants of metallized plastic film that we believe to be packaging for a food that would have been eaten for ease, convenience or just for fun. Referred to as a 'Snack' this type of food does not contain enough nutrients to feed an adult or a child and therefore we must deduce that it was used as a supplement alongside other regular nutrition.   Due to the prevalence of these remains we must also assume this kind of food was important either culturally or religiously, as it would not be considered necessary for survival on its own. By referring to our written knowledge of historical humans we know them to be frivolous and wasteful and these packaging remains further cement that belief.

Source 2

Digital Messages of an Ancient Recipe

This source was discovered by a team of Digital Archaeologists working on this project. Digital archaeologists search the remains of the ancient internet to discover information left behind by ancient humans that can give us some insight into how they would have lived.   This source in particular is a series of internet messages exchanged on a social networking site that document a recipe passed down from a grandmother to her granddaughter. From this, we can assume that certain foods played a significant cultural (potentially ritualistic) role in ancient human relationships. This recipe may have been believed to have particular healing benefits, or it may have just been seen as a token of affection. Unfortunately, no further records of this conversation could be detected and so we are unable to know more.

Beliefs About Ancient Human Food

We knew ancient humans were wasteful, but to this extent?

 

Maybe this food was used for religious purposes, or kept because of superstition...

 

Or maybe it was kept because they wanted to keep it. Sometimes I think we read too far into things my friend...

— a conversation between two researchers

    Evidence suggests that ancient humans had a range of specific rituals and behaviours that they associated with food. This began the belief that food held many roles in their culture outside of their nutrition. Some researchers have also discovered ancient texts which describe food (particularly sweet foods) as having magical or supernatural properties. These texts have been leading evidence in undergoing research into the possibility of the supernatural nature of ancient humans. This research is still ongoing.  

Conclusion

To conclude, we still know very little about the lives and culture of ancient humans. However, our research strongly points to the prevalence of magic or supernatural abilities in their communities, and a reliance on food for social purposes.   This however does not justify their wastefulness, destructiveness and lack of care for the planet Earth. What we have learnt is that ancient humans are infinitely more complex than previously understood and our research must continue or else we will continue to misrepresent the past.