Covered through the ages: sculpted stone to Evercut kitchen knife! part 1

They are used every day. They are some of the simplest, but useful, devices of existence. They are used all over the world. But who, exactly, invented knives, forks and spoons?
 

Spoons

 Spoons are one of the oldest eating utensils on the planet. This is not particularly surprising if one takes into account that almost all the time that human beings have needed food, they have required something to lift it with. Unlike knives and forks, which for the most part had to be fashionable, natural spoons could be used by using things such as shells or stones in a convenient way. Of course, the oldest known cases of these have no handles yet, but from these humble beginnings, the spoon was born.There is no definite time period that can be attributed to the invention of the spoon. And by 'invention' which, of course, means 'add a handle to some bones of dead animals.' However, archaeological evidence suggests that spoons with mangoes were used for religious purposes of ancient Egypt as early as 1000 BC. Made of materials such as ivory, wood, stone and slate, these spoons were covered with ornamental decorations and hieroglyphics.
 When it was actually the consumption of food, the most common material at the time of wooden spoons was due to its availability and low cost. However, during the Greek and Roman empires, bronze spoons and silver were common among the rich. This remained true until and through the Middle Ages.In fact, the first documented evidence of spoons in England was in 1259 - it is counted as an itinerary element of the wardrobe of King Edward I. Similar to the Egyptians, spoons at this time are not used simply for eating, but also in the ornamented ceremonies and to demonstrate wealth and power. For example, the coronation of all British kings was preceded by a ritual in which the new monarch would be anointed by a ceremonial spoon.
 Spoons were granted even more importance during the Tudor and Stuart periods when it became customary to give a Spoon Apostle as a gift of baptism. The particularly rich one gave a set of twelve of these spoons, and, finally, a XIII was added. This was called the "Master spoon", as it bore the figure of Christ.This practice gave rise to the tradition of baptismal spoons and was frequent throughout all social classes of the time. The only difference is the material from which these spoons were made - usually silver or gold for the upper classes and copper or brass for the minor.
 The design of the spoon changed throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods before finally receiving its current mostly standard appearance throughout the 18th century. Since then, spoons have remained a staple of modern tables and come in a wide range of variations - everything from the soup to the caviar spoons.