Editing Spice (section)

===Early history===
[[Archaeology|Archeological]] study of early spice use is difficult, as spices were used in small quantities, leaving few preserved remains.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Katherine M |title=Routledge International Handbook of Food Studies |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-78264-7 |editor-last=Albala |editor-first=Ken |editor-link=Ken Albala |location=Oxford & New York |chapter=The archaeology of food}}</ref>

The [[spice trade]] developed throughout the [[Indian subcontinent]]<ref name="Sidebotham2019">{{cite book|author=Steven E. Sidebotham|title=Berenike and the Ancient Maritime Spice Route|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tw6LDwAAQBAJ|date=May 7, 2019|publisher=Univ of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-30338-6|access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630115408/https://books.google.com/books?id=Tw6LDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Middle East]] by 2000 BCE with [[cinnamon]] and [[black pepper]], and in [[East Asia]] with herbs and pepper. The Egyptians used herbs for [[ancient Egyptian cuisine|cuisine]] and [[Ancient Egyptian funerary practices|mummification]]. Their demand for exotic spices and herbs helped stimulate world trade.

[[Clove]]s were used in [[Mesopotamia]] by 1700&nbsp;BCE.{{refn |group=note |A team of archaeologists led by [[Giorgio Buccellati]] excavating the ruins of a burned-down house at the site of [[Terqa]], in modern-day [[Syria]], found a ceramic pot containing a handful of cloves. The house had burned down around 1720 BC and this was the first evidence of cloves being used in the west before Roman times.<ref>Daniel T. Potts (1997), [https://books.google.com/books?id=O_aFGKPsWwcC&pg=PA269 Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326164819/https://books.google.com/books?id=O_aFGKPsWwcC&pg=PA269 |date=March 26, 2023 }} A&C Black publishers, p. 269</ref><ref>Buccellati, G., M. Kelly-Buccellati, Terqa: The First Eight Seasons, Les Annales Archeologiques Arabes Syriennes 33(2), 1983, 47-67</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=O'Connell |first=John |title=The Book of Spice: From Anise to Zedoary |publisher=Pegasus Books |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-68177-152-6|url= }}</ref>}} The earliest written records of spices come from ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian cultures. The [[Ebers Papyrus]] from early Egypt dating from 1550 BCE describes some eight hundred different [[Herbal medicine|herbal medicinal]] remedies and numerous medicinal procedures.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Food and Culture|last=Woodward|first=Penny|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|year=2003|editor-last=Katz|volume=2|pages=187–195|chapter=Herbs and Spices}}</ref>

By 1000&nbsp;BCE, medical systems based upon herbs could be found in [[China]], [[Korea]], and [[India]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}} Early uses were associated with magic, medicine, religion, tradition, and preservation.<ref name=ABCp14>{{cite book |last=Murdock |first=Linda | title=A Busy Cook's Guide to Spices: How to Introduce New Flavors to Everyday Meals | publisher=Bellwether Books | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-9704285-0-9 | page=14}}</ref>

Indonesian merchants traveled around China, India, the Middle East, and the east coast of Africa. [[Arab]] merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This resulted in the Egyptian [[Port of Alexandria|port city of Alexandria]] being the main trading center for spices. The most important discovery prior to the European spice trade was the [[monsoon]] winds (40 CE). Sailing from Eastern spice cultivators to Western European consumers gradually replaced the land-locked spice routes once facilitated by the Middle East Arab caravans.<ref name=ABCp14/>

Spices were prominent enough in the ancient world that they are mentioned in the [[Old Testament]]. In [[Genesis (Old Testament)|Genesis]], [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]], [[manna]] is described as being similar to coriander in appearance. In the [[Song of Solomon]], the male narrator compares his beloved to many saffron, cinnamon, and other spices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Gateway passage: Song of Songs 4:14 - New International Version |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song+of+Solomon+4:14&version=NIV |access-date=2025-03-22 |website=Bible Gateway |language=en}}</ref>

Historians believe that [[nutmeg]], which originates from the [[Banda Islands]] in [[Southeast Asia]], was introduced to Europe in the 6th century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burkill |first=I.H. |title=A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula |publisher=Ministry of Agriculture and Co-Operatives |location=Kuala Lumpur |year=1966}}</ref> The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] had cloves in the 1st century CE, as [[Pliny the Elder]] wrote about them.<ref name="Duke 2002 p. 7">{{cite book |last=Duke |first=J.A. |title=CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices |publisher=CRC Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-4200-4048-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPTLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |access-date=May 9, 2017 |page=7 |archive-date=June 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630115408/https://books.google.com/books?id=vPTLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |url-status=live }}</ref>