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29,000 BCE
The oven
The earliest ovens, found in Central Europe, date from 29,000 BC, and were used, at times, to cook mammoth. Their more contemporary counterparts, gas ovens, were first developed in the early 19th century and were used, at times, to cook buns. -
8300 BCE
The fishing net
Fishing nets have been used since the stone age, with the oldest known version made from willow and dating back to 8300 BC. The nets are still in wide use today, and currently include casting, drifting, dragging, landing, trawling, and leg-wrapping varieties. -
6600 BCE
Fermentation
Beer. More formally, "the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions" -- which leads to such products as alcohol, wine, vinegar, yogurt, bread, and cheese. Mostly, though: beer. -
6000 BCE
Grinding / milling
Grinding is the process of grinding grain or other materials in a mill. It produces, among other things, flour, which is the main ingredient of bread -- a staple food for many cultures. The milling of grain has been a practice since 6000 BC, enacted by millstones and similar implements -- and replicated pretty much the same way until the late 19th century brought the advent of the steam mill. -
2500 BCE
Frying
The cooking of food in oil or another fat originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC.The product that will probably, somehow, lead to its end: deep-fried beer -
The plough
A plough is a tool (or, more commonly now, a machine) that cultivates soil in preparation for sowing seeds. It has existed, in some form, pretty much since the dawn of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture. In that regard, it facilitated the rise of sedentary human civilization.
