![]() Some early cultures even used it as a form of currency. The Importance of Salt in Chinese History All of this means that from ancient China to Egypt, Greece, and Rome, the history of human civilization is closely linked to the history of salt. In ancient China, the history of salt can be traced back over 6,000 years. Salt was such a valuable commodity that many battles were fought for control of the area and access to the lake’s salt flats.ĭuring the Neolithic period, the Dawenkou culture in northern China was already producing salt from underground brine deposits and using it to supplement their diet.Īccording to historians, salt harvesting also occurred at Lake Yuncheng during a similar period, in what is the modern-day Chinese province of Shanxi. The first known Chinese treatise on pharmacology, the Peng-Tzao-Kan-Mu, written more than 4,700 years ago, lists over 40 different types of salt and their properties. It also describes methods of extracting it and preparing it for human consumption.ĭuring the Shang Dynasty in ancient China, beginning around 1600 BC, salt production began on a large scale. It was widely traded in pottery jars which, according to ‘The Archaeology of China’, served as a form of currency and ‘standard units of measure in the trade and distribution of salt’. Other great empires that followed in early China, such as the Han, Qin, Tang and Song dynasties, took control of salt production and distribution. Furthermore, since it was considered an essential commodity, salt was often taxed and was historically an important source of revenue for Chinese rulers. In the 21st century, China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of salt, with 66.5 million tons produced in 2017, primarily for industrial purposes. Geographically close to China, in the area that would become modern-day Pakistan, a different kind of salt with a much older history was discovered and traded. ![]() ![]() Historically, natron has been confused with niter, and thus with saltpeter.Rock salt, also known scientifically as halite, was created from the evaporation of ancient inland seas and saltwater lakes, which left concentrated beds of sodium chloride and other minerals. Due to this meddling, the natron failed to dry out the corpses, and the mummies rotted. The Lizard, a member of the Order of the Ancients had arranged the natron used at the temple to be mixed with white Saqqara sand, threatening the temple head and his daughter. Bayek was asked to investigate and solve the issue, and he learned that the natron used at the mummification temple had been tainted. Īround the same time, Memphis was believed to be cursed, and a foul stench haunted its streets. The following year, Bayek returned with the intent to thank Nefertari for helping him Rudjek's widow still lived in the village, as did Rudjek's lover, and the villagers believed Bayek killing Rudjek had 'cursed' the village, for the nearby shrines of Anubis had been disturbed. Īfter hunting down and killing Rudjek, the nomarch of the nome and a member of the Order of the Ancients, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa was taken to Nitria by Nefertari, the chief healer of the village, when she found Bayek injured near the Bent Pyramid. The most important source for natron during the 1st century BCE was the village of Nitria in the middle of Saqqara Nome.
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