From the very first settlement in recorded history, early humans knew that to survive in the new age of agriculture, they’d need two things: access to water, and a source of salt. Without salt, our meats and vegetables wouldn’t last long enough to help us survive droughts, monsoons, and long periods between harvests. Our bodies wouldn’t have the necessary nutrients to live, and the entire experiment in building permanent villages might have failed. Salt tells the story of everything- as it was a foundational component of every culture, ever. And the lengths societies went to in order to procure the stuff…well that gave us innovations ranging from commerce to hydraulics to so much more. In this video we look at the origins of the salt trade. The myths and legends surrounding its discovery, and the incredible stories from the earliest days of history all the way to the 20th century that have followed humanity’s long and important love affair with salt.

[…]