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11 Chapter One: History

But these days, the twin developments of modern technology and climate change have altered this ancient journey. It’s become too hot and dry even for camels to travel so far for so long. Increasingly, men now load gasoline- powered trucks with salt, which shortens the travel time considerably.

Salt by the Numbers Chemical formula: NaCl Phase at room temperature: solid Melting point: 1,475°F (801°C) Boiling point: 2,575°F (1,413°C)

“Whenever I see a [truck] take the salt, I am very upset,” the leader of one camel caravan told a reporter. “The salt caravan is not something just for money, it is tradition . . . for me [the trucks mean] the end of [our] culture.” Whether transported by beast or machine, salt is still central to lives of people, and this fact underscores the importance of the mineral in society. The history of civilization is, in part, the history of salt. Shifting Diets Our early ancestors were hunters and gatherers who got their fill of life-sustaining salt by eating the salt contained in the animals they hunted. However, as they settled into towns and villages and became farmers, their diet shifted to the crops they grew, so that they ate less meat. Eating less meat meant eating less salt. Yet people still needed salt. They craved it as a seasoning and as a preservative. Although they probably didn’t know it at the time, salt regulated many of their bodily Salt, Religion, and Superstitions Various cultures have used salt as part of religious rituals. The ancient Romans rubbed salt on newborn babies to keep evil spirits away. The ancient Greeks and Hebrews also used salt in paying homage to their gods. Even today, some people use salt to ward off evil spirits. It is said that demons and other evil spirits cannot cross a line of salt sprinkled on the ground. In some European countries, people toss salt into the coffin of a dead person to keep the devil away.