Pop Perhaps: Does the most famous trio in the world name? If you are an enthusiast, then your answer could have been breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It is an almost universally accepted Trinity, particularly in the western world.
But how did it arise?
The first meals
The first humans were nomads. Forming small communities, they would travel with the stations, following local food sources.
While we can only guess how the daily rhythms of the meals were seen, the evidence that dates back to 30,000 years from the South Moravia region, Czech Republic, shows that people visited specific settlements over and over again.
They gathered around homes, cooking and sharing food: the first signs of human “dmentation”, the practice of eating together.
One of the best preserved hunter-gatherer sites that we have found is located on the banks of the Modern Sea of Galilee (also called Lake Tiberias or Lake Kinneret) in Israel, and dates back to about 23,000 years.
The fertile crescent covers the rich biodiverse valleys of the Tigris, Euphrarates and Jordan Ríos. Fountain: Shuttersock / The conversation
In addition to several small homes with homes, it provides evidence from various food sources, including more than 140 types of seeds and nuts, and several birds, fish and mammals.
The development of agricultural knowledge about 12,000 years resulted in permanent settlements. The former were in the Levant region (in the modern Iraq, the southwest of Iran and the east of Türkiye), in an area called average average fertile.
Permanent agriculture led to the production of a surplus of food. The ability to stay in a place with food at hand meant that the time it took to cook no longer mattered so much.
It quickly became common to eat an early light food in the day, followed by a meal prepared with a larger home later. The specific times would have varied between the groups.
Eating together as a rule
The community nature of search and hunting, and then agriculture, meant that humans almost always ate their meals in the company of others.
In the old city-state of Sparta, in the fourth century a. C., these practices were coded as main common meals called Sysssitia (which means “eating together”).
These meals were consumed at the end of the day in the communal dining rooms. The young people served food from approximately 15 men who lived together and fought in the same military division.
Men gradually shared generational knowledge with young children, who would join the tables at age 20.
In the 5th century a. C., the Greek historian Herodotus wrote about how the system evolved from a Spartan military practice to have a deep political meaning in society.
Similarly, Plato wrote common meals was an integral component of civil society, and that losing a food without a good reason was a civic crime.
When dinner from the rest of society, citizens were forced to maintain self -discipline. The time of food was also an opportunity for the social bond and the important discussions ranging from business to politics.
The eating habits of Spartan women are missing in the texts, although they are implicit that they ate at home.
Clusters of lunch
Against the hard way of Spartan life, the Romans enjoyed their main food, earlier in the day, followed by a lighter meal just before bedtime.
The tribes of northern Europe tended to two bigger meals per day, since more support in colder climates is required. For the Vikings, these meals were known as dagmal and nattmal, or day food and night food.
Nattmal was cooking dinner, while Dagmal generally consisted of surplus natural with the addition of bread and beer or hydromiel.
In Australia, the evidence suggests that aboriginal peoples tended towards an individual daily meal, which aligns with the predominant cooking method: slow cooking with embers or hot rocks in a dirt oven.
This underground oven, used by the aboriginal communities and also of the islanders of the Torres Strait, was called Kup Murri or Kap Mauri by some groups.
This is similar to other indigenous preparations throughout the Pacific, such as Maori Hāngī, New Zealand Hawaiian Imu, Imu Hawaiian, set Lovo and even Mayan Píib.
The food once a day would have complemented with snacks throughout the day.
Three is the magic number
The moment of meals was strongly influenced by the class structure, the local climate and the daily activities of the people. Practicality also played a role.
Without reliable lighting, meals had to prepare and eat before dusk. In established parts of northern Europe, this could be as soon as 3pm.
So how do we go from one or two main meals to three? The answer can be with the British Navy Royal.
Since its inception in the 16th century, the Navy served three regular meals to align with the on -board routine. This included a simple breakfast of boat cookies, lunch as main food and dinner as a lighter dinner.
Some sources suggest that the term square food can come from square wooden trays in which meals were served.
Initially, the sailors received a daily gallon of beer with meals. This later changed to diluted rum, the infamous “Grog”, which is delivered in this 1940 photo taken aboard the HMS King George V. Credit: Imperial War Museums
The Industrial Revolution, which began around 1760, possibly also played a role in the formalization of the concept of three specific foods worldwide.
The cadence of breakfast, lunch and dinner coincided with the routine of the longest standardized working days. The workers had breakfast at home, before and after work, while lunch ate with co -workers at an established time.
With minimal breaks, and without time to refrigerate, three substantial meals became necessary.
The fall of the Holy Trinity
Today, many factors affect the time and frequency of our meals, from long trips to the hobbies of juggling and social obligations.
Covid pandemia also hit how and what we eat, which led us to eat greater amounts of greater calorie foods. The rapid growth of delivery services also means that a meal is not more than a few minutes from most people.
The ways in which we eat and share foods continue to evolve along with our societies and cultures. Fountain: Shuttersock / The conversation
All this has turned out that meals become less rigid, with social meals such as brunch, elevations and the afternoon teas that expand how we connect with food. And meals will continue to evolve as our schedules become increasingly complicated.
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