Life without Flatware
Like most people, you have very likely never thought much about flatware and the need for such a common utensil. But in the earliest days of civilization, mankind ate most of their food with their fingers and hands. Naturally, this changed as progress marched on and mankind moved away from the primitive methods of eating that marked the dark and early days of civilization. Unknown to early man, the fingernails and hands themselves are badly contaminated with all manner of dirt and disease, leading to all manner of difficulty with illness and sickness.
It’s only natural to assume that early mankind started off devouring food with all different types of found objects being used as flatware. What ever they managed to come across, it was very likely more to protect their fingers from the heat of the food than any type of bacteria. In fact, it is very unlikely that early mankind was even aware of germs, bacteria or other types of infectious organisms. Considering the early stages of mankind and how ill-equipped they were to deal with sickness and disease, the implementation of utensils was very likely a big part of mankind’s survival into the modern day.
With the passage of time, the use of flatware very likely became a critical matter for those who wish to keep the bacteria and organisms from under the finger nails out of their mouth and out of their bodies. With this effort, mankind’s general health would have improved and, while the implementation of utensils had very likely little to do with illness, the use of utensils was most certainly the cause of the improved help of mankind at this time. With the effort to utilize flatware, the contamination that existed under the thing announced was kept isolated, allowing mankind to flourish and live with improved help in general.
While we take flatware and basic hygiene for granted in the modern day, in the early days of the Dawn of Man, it probably never occurred to anyone that germs or bacteria actually existed, much less existed in the hands of mankind itself. In fact, flatware was very likely invented out of the need to remove the heat of the food from the hands, as it was very likely uncomfortable and caused pain for the somewhat less intelligent forebears that might not have been aware of any type of hygiene to begin with.
Without any method of manufacturing, utensils in those early days would very likely been made from wood or bone, or passably even stone. There certainly was no metalworking available in those days and it is assumed that the invention of flatware was accidental. While we can only guess at the exact circumstances surrounding the implementation of these utensils, it is very likely that flatware and its use allow the human race to survive, despite early man’s ignorance of bacteria in general.
You probably don’t think twice about flatware today, as we can simply walk into a department store and pick out the flatware we need without giving it a second consideration. But it’s interesting to note that early mankind would have had a far more difficult time of coming up with suitable flatware. Without the ability to manufacture or refined metals, or even the basic understanding of bacteria and hygiene, primitive man simply managed to come up with flatware very likely accidentally, probably making the difference between extinction and survival for the entire human race.
In the modern day, flatware has become extremely common and is made from many different types of materials. There are plastic types of flatware that used in fast food facilities, although it up to silver and stainless steel, which are far more common in the home. Nearly any type of substance can be turned into some type of flatware, and all of these types of products can be found at your local department store. Flatware is second nature to mankind in the modern day, having been handed down from generation to generation over the centuries. With the convenience of different types of manufacturing, it is unlikely that you can find any home that doesn’t have plenty of flatware, including Forbes, knives, spoons and all manner of other utensils. It is a far cry from the early days of wooden flatware and sharp bones, but we can still see the earliest prototypes of flatware in the products that we use in the current day.
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