Random Oldest Foods Ever Discovered By Archaeologists (12 items)

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  (#11) 7,000-Year-Old Popcorn

  In 2012, archaeologists produced a study that proved that Peruvians were making popcorn as early as 6,700 years ago. Ancient Peruvians likely made popcorn by wrapping a cob and resting it on coals until the kernels popped, roasting the corn directly over flame, or cooking the cob in an oven. 
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  (#5) Ancient Chinese Mummy Cheese

  A group of archaeologists uncovered 200 mummies buried in China’s Taklamakan Desert. The mummies are nearly 4,000 years old, and they are still wearing the clothes in which they were buried in upside-down boats. 

  The mummies were also carrying chunks of cheese tied around their necks. The dry and salty soil of the desert preserved the mummies and their ancient cheese for thousands of years.
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  (#9) 140-Year-Old Toxic Victorian Beer

  In February 2020, a cache of 600 beer bottles was discovered below the staircase of what was once a Victorian brewery in Leeds, England. The bottles were found neatly stacked in the ancient remains of the Scarborough Castle Inn, which was part of Tetley's Brewery (established in 1822). According to Archaeological Services WYAS, the group responsible for the find, many of the bottles still contained liquid and were sent to a lab for analysis.

  At first, the bottles' contents were thought to be ginger beer, but the liquid was later confirmed to not only be alcoholic (at 3% alcohol by volume) but also disturbingly toxic. The beer contained a high volume of lead, at 0.13 mg/l, which is well above the safe level of 0.01 mg/l recommended by the World Health Organization. On its Facebook page, Archaelogical Services WYAS notes that the high level of lead may be due to contamination from water being transported through lead pipes. 

  David Williams, senior project manager at Archaeological Services WYAS, told The Drinks Business that the bottles probably date to the late 19th century, “perhaps the 1880s.”
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  (#10) 2,400-Year-Old Greek Salad Dressing

  In 2006, a team of scientists sent a robot into an ancient Greek shipwreck to collect jars from the bottom of the sea. After DNA testing, the scientists determined that the jars contained olive oil infused with oregano – essentially, 2,400-year-old salad dressing. The antioxidant properties of the oregano helped preserve the food that dates back to the days of Aristotle and Socrates.
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  (#8) 5,500-Year-Old Burnt Bread

  The very first farmers in Britain were making bread – and burning it – 5,500 years ago. Archaeologists found the bread, made from barley, in a pit near Oxford. The bread was either tossed into a garbage pit or intended as a religious offering. The hunk of bread looked so much like the hunk of coal pictured here, scientists originally mistook the find for charcoal. Once they put the bread under the microscope, however, ancient grains of barley became visible.
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  (#12) Honey From An Ancient Egyptian Tomb

  The oldest sample of honey from the Egyptian pyramids is approximately 3,000 years old. Scientists even claim the honey is still edible because of its natural “preservatives,” namely its low water content, acidic properties, and small amounts of hydrogen peroxide – a byproduct of bees’ stomachs. 

  In addition to food, ancient Egyptians used honey as an ingredient in their embalming fluid. 

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