Tanning hides is practiced in the ancient world since c. 7000 BCE, in the Indus Valley site of Mehgarh. By 2500 BCE, Sumerians of...

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

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...

Ib ( jb ) is the ancient Egyptian heart, the center of intelligence and existence in a body. It's also called qaib or qa-ib referring to...

Yarrow is an herb of magic and medicine. A flowering plant native to the northern hemisphere yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is commonly...

Red ocher is among the first colors appearing on the palette of early humans, along with white and red. Black, white and red are also...

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...

Woad ( Isatis tinctoria ) is a plant yielding a blue pigment used in dyes, paint and medicine. A member of the mustard family, it's also...

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

Kamrushepa (Kamrušepa) is a Luwian and Hittite goddess of medicine and magic. She's the wife of Sun God Tiwaz and plays an important...

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

Eileithyia (Ilithyia) is an ancient Greek goddess of birth, the process of childbirth and midwifery. She can be one goddess, or several....

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) is one of the seven ancient foods of the southern Mediterranean. Figs are also part of the group....

An innocuous shrub of desert regions, green ushtun ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus ) is used by ancients for soap and medicine. In Mesopotamia...

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

Shulpae (Šulpae) is a Mesopotamian demon god. His wife is the eternal Ninhursag , the mother mountain goddess. Her major cult center is...

Incense burns smoky over hot coals. Voices rise in prayers, incantations and songs. Noise, wailing, howling, clapping, stamping, bells,...

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