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30,600 BCE
Pestle (PALEOLITHIC)
Pestle used as a tool in Southern Italy to grind oats. Typically made of hard wood, metal, ceramic, or hard stone, such as granite it would crush and grind substances into a fine paste or powder in the kitchen, laboratory, and pharmacy. -
8500 BCE
Neolithic Revolution
The first agriculture revolution, begins in the Ancient Near east (Mesopotamia). This marked the transition in human history from small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers to larger, agricultural settlements and early civilization. -
8000 BCE
Development and discovery of new agriculture
The potato was domesticated, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. Bananas were refined and hybridized (the process of an animal or plant breeding with an individual of another species or variety) in the same period in Papua New Guinea. -
7500 BCE
Introduction to grains
PPNB (Pre-pottery Neolithic B) sites across fertile Crescent (Middle East) growing wheat, barley, chickpeas, peas, beans, flax and bitter vetch (grain). Sheep and goats were domesticated. Nomadic hunters and gathers began to transition to farmers after last mini ice age. -
7000 BCE
Development of grains, first tools invented
Agriculture had reached Southern Europe with evidence of emmer and einkorn wheat, barely, sheep, goats and pigs suggesting that a food producing economy is adopted in Greece and the Aegean. Cultivation of wheat, sesame and eggplant in Mehrgarh (modern name Pakistan). Domestication of cattle and chicken in Mehrgarh. The loom and the two man plow are invented. Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in Papua New Guinea. -
6800 BCE
Expansion of agriculture
Rice domesticated in Southeast Asia. Evidence of cattle domestication in Turkey. -
4000 BCE
Storage of food
Granary built in Mehrgarh for storage of excess food. Domestication of numerous crops including peas, sesame seeds, dates and cotton, as well as a wide range of domestic animals, including the Domestic Water Buffalo. Egyptians discover how to make bread using yeast. Evidence for rice domestication in the Khorat Plateau (Northwestern Thailand). First use of light wooden plows in Mesopotamia. -
3500 BCE
Irrigation
Irrigation (controlled amounts of water given to plants at needed intervals) was being used on Mesopotamia. First agriculture in the Americas. -
3000 BCE
Introduction of spices
Turmeric, cardamom, pepper and mustard are harvested in the Indus Valley Civilization (South Asia). Fermentation (turning carbs into alcohol) of dough, grain and fruit juices is in practice. Sugar is produced in India. Camels were domesticated. -
1700 BCE
Selective breeding
Farmers begin selective breeding (aka artificial selection) of cattle. Breeders select two parents that have beneficial phenotypic traits to reproduce, yielding offspring with those desired traits. -
500 BCE
Development of techniques (ANTIQUITY)
The moldboard iron plow is invented in China. Row cultivation of crops using intensive digging to conserve moisture practiced in China. -
Canning
French confectioner Nicolas Appert invents canning. a method to preserve food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in airtight containers, it provides a shelf life typically ranging from one to five years. -
Pasteurization
Louis Pasteur invents pasteurization - a process in which water and certain packaged foods are treated with mild heat to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. -
Introduction to refrigeration
Refrigeration for domestic and commercial drink preservation introduced in the US and UK. The process of cooling a space or substance to lower and/or maintain its temperature in order to preserve food. -
The use of fertilization
Fertilizers are used to supply crops with essential nutrients for growth and to help replenish the soil of key elements once a crop has extracted them during the growth process. -
Frozen foods
Frozen foods became popular. Freezing food slows down decomposition by turning residual moisture into ice, inhibiting the growth of most bacterial species. Preserving food in domestic kitchens during modern times is achieved using household freezers. -
Genetic modification
Genetically modified (the direct manipulation of an organisms genes using biotechnology) the plants cultivated around the world. The rise had provided economic benefit to farmers in many countries and pose no greater risk to human health. -
Track and trace
Lasers used to replace stickers by writing on food to "track and trace" and identify individual pieces of fresh fruit. -
The use of pesticides
1849 CE - First mixed chemical fertilizers are produced. It is a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms harmful to cultivated plants or to animals. Pesticide business is a 12 Billion dollar industry.
