Solnitsata is the oldest known town in Europe, dating to the Chalcolithic Age in the 5th millennium BCE. A major center of the Neolithic...

Portrimpo is a pagan Baltic sea god. Also known as Autrimpo he rules the sea, earth, grain and crops. One of the Old Prussian gods,...

Sweet oranges in Europe and northern regions are a special treat at Christmas, going back to St Nicolas of Myra (270 - 343) in today's...

The Corycian Cave system is a Neolithic ritual site and sanctuary on Mount Parnassus used from c. 4000 BCE. To ancient Greeks it's home...

Honey bees create honey, beeswax and folklore. First domestication of the honeybee is c. 8000 BCE, in the Neolithic Age. At this time the...

Honey mead is likened to ambrosia , nectar of the Greek Gods, with qualities of immortality and divine transcendence, beloved by bears...

Grayanotoxins are neurotoxins. They're active ingredients in mad honey, produced by bees harvesting pollen and nectar of plants carrying...

Rhododendron is a plant genus of the heather family. With bright showy flowers, this glamorous perennial is known for medicinal...

Pistacia is a shrub or tree prized for food , resin, tannins, oils and natural turpentine for thousands of years in the Mediterranean...

Mad honey comes from a group of plant-produced neurotoxins named after Leucothoe grayana, a plant native to Japan. Grayanotoxins can...

Wheat, barley, millet and rice are four of the ancient grains, going back to the Neolithic agrarian revolution c. 10,000 BCE. Ancient...

Mugworts are used in folk medicine of India, China, Europe, America and other regions. A member of Artemisia , mugwort is also called...

Neolithic farmers in Britain and northern Europe are the first to drink milk. Early humans are lactose intolerant but consume dairy...

Broad beans ( Vicia faba ), faba or fava beans are cultivated as a crop from pre-Neolithic times to present day. Among the earliest...

Khet represents the physical body and is considered part of the soul in ancient Egypt. The soul is made of eight parts. Together they...

Salt is an essential mineral of life. In food it stimulates taste and is among the oldest preservation methods. Part of the human taste...

Watercress ( Nasturtium officinale ) grows in fresh water. With hollow stems, it floats and is easily gathered from the water's surface....

Cinnamon birds appear in folklore of Eurasia shortly after Arab merchants begin trading with ancient lands to the north. Cinnamon enjoys...

Cinnamon ( Cinnamomum ) is the oldest known spice in the world. The fragrant bark comes into popular use by c. 2000 BCE, when Egyptians...

Nigella sativa or kalonji is a blackseed plant with healing properties. Use in cooking and folk medicine is documented by the 2nd...