Food and Evolution: The History of Homo Sapiens on a Plate

We eat several times a day, invent new dishes, and improve the ways of cooking old ones, we study the culinary arts and try the cuisine of other countries and continents, but at the same time, we hardly even notice how closely the history of food is connected with the history of civilization. It seems that there is no connection at all and food has no history.
In fact, there is a history - and quite a significant one!
Our food has evolved, meaning it has developed alongside us. There is a huge difference between a piece of meat accidentally dropped into a fire in ancient times and a modern striploin, while at the same time a familial connection can be traced through the centuries and millennia between them. A similar connection can be traced between the grains that were once soaked in water to eat and the current range of cereals and pilafs. Even between the Catholic fast and Japanese tempura dishes, there is a connection, although it is hard to believe. In our world, everything is interconnected!
- How have religious beliefs influenced the cuisine of the world's peoples?
- Why did the trade of live rams thrive in ancient Arab markets?
- How did Indian chefs turn exotic dishes into purely Indian ones using yogurt?
- Why did Japanese emperors, despite religious prohibitions, feed their soldiers meat?
- How has the development of maritime trade affected Italian and Byzantine cuisine?
- Why did Turkic manti in Russian lands become economical and small dumplings?
- What caused the purchase of food and spices to become a significant item of expenditure at the court of Louis XIV?
- How did the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia destroy the centuries-old tradition of making Russian dishes?