# Stone Age Kitchenware

## Paleolithic

There were literally no kitchenware in paleolithic period except
stone knife and spoon. People used fire, but they didn't even cook.
The time was an ice age so there were not so many foods at all.
And people were hunter-gatherers so they didn't want to carry many
large heavy tools.

The only cooking methods were barbequing on a large stone and
boiling water by putting a hot heated stone in. And even boiling
was a late invention.

Stone knife was just a sharp stone. The original form of spoon was
[Seashell] + [Wooden stick]. And people made wooden spoons by
substituting the seashell with a wooden chip.


## Neolithic

The invention of pottery was literally the invention of kitchenware.
They started to make pots, cups, &c. It was the age of earthenware
and woodenware. And they started to polish stones and attach a
wooden handle to a stone knife. Although some people used natural
glass like obsidian back then, glass was a rare material.

Chopsticks were first used in 3000BC China. Not surprising since
chopsticks are just wooden sticks at all. So east Asians used
chopsticks + spoon.

But for the rest of the world, people still used their hands for
eating. Fork was only invented in 11C. People cut a bread with a
knife then ate with hands. Or scooped soup with a spoon. I think
this might be related to the fact that east Asians ate rice instead
of wheat.

Japanese invented lacquerware during the Jomon period (7000 BC).