It’s July and the temperatures have been rising…and rising…and rising. How about forgetting the heat with a scrumptious hot fudge sundae? But before you dig in, let’s take a moment to appreciate the human ingenuity over five millenia that brought you the cooling cream and rich chocolate sauce of this very ancient confection. Continue reading
Category Archives: Culinary
Hot Fudge Sundae: A Dessert 5,000 Years in the Making
Posted in Blog, Culinary, Culture
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Aztecs, chocolate, ice cream, Mayas, Mesoamerica, sundae, whipped cream
KIDS’ BLOG! Ancient People Loved Chewing Gum!
What is your favorite flavor of chewing gum? Whether it is spearmint, wintergreen, cinnamon or fruit flavored, chewing gum is one of the world’s most popular habits with nearly 100,000 tons consumed per year. Gum seems like a very modern invention with its fun flavors, colors and special additives for energy, fresh breath, teeth whitening and more. In fact, the oldest known piece of chewing gum dates back at least 5,000 years and was found by an archaeology student in Finland.[1] It was a simple lump of birch bark tar that experts believe was chewed by Neolithic people to heal mouth infections. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culinary, Culture, Kids Blog, Kids: Culinary, Kids: Culture, Kids: Public Life, Kids: Recreation, Public Life, Recreation
Tagged Ancient Greece, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Aztecs, chewing gum, chicle, Finland, mastic, mastiche, Mayas, Wrigley
Gum Chewing: A 5,000 Year Old Habit
Whether it is spearmint, wintergreen, cinnamon or fruit flavored, chewing gum is one of the world’s most ubiquitous habits with nearly 100,000 tons consumed per year. Gum seems like a very modern invention with its myriad of flavors, colors and special additives for energy, fresh breath, teeth whitening and more. In fact, the oldest known piece of chewing gum dates back at least 5,000 years and was found by an archaeology student in Finland.[1] It was a simple lump of birch bark tar that experts believe was chewed by Neolithic people to heal mouth infections. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culinary, Culture, Public Life, Recreation
Tagged Ancient Greece, ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Aztecs, chewing gum, mastic, mastiche, Mayas, Wrigley
KIDS’ BLOG! Hot Chocolate: Making Kids Happy for More Than 1,000 Years!
Image courtesy of anka @ happyhangaround
Do you love a cup of hot chocolate with lots of sweet marshmallows? Did you know that kids just like you drank hot chocolate over a thousand years ago?
The Maya people in Northern Belize were drinking hot chocolate as far back as 600 BCE. Although many people think that the Mayas discovered chocolate, the Olmec people who lived in Mexico from 1500-400 BCE were actually drinking a chocolate concoction even earlier. Do you enjoy your food with some extra zing? In their book The History of Chocolate, Sophie and Michael Coe describe how the Olmec crushed the cacao beans, mixed them with water and spices, and then added chilies and herbs for a spicy drink. Or maybe you would have enjoyed some of the other things the Olmec added to their chocolate, such as honey for a sweeter drink and also flavorings from flowers and vanilla. Continue reading
Posted in Blog, Culinary, Culture, Kids Blog, Kids: Culinary, Kids: Culture
Tagged ancient history, AntiquityNOW, Belize, cocoa, hot chocolate, Maya
Hot Chocolate: Gift of the Gods Since 1900 BCE
Image courtesy of masatoshi_
If you think hot chocolate is just a modern day treat, you may be surprised to discover that the Maya people in Northern Belize were drinking hot chocolate as far back as 600 BCE, and even more intriguing, other evidence supports the use of chocolate much earlier than that.
AntiquityNOW 