Delicious and Unclean: The History of the Pig

Wild pigs moved out of Asia and into the Middle East and Europe long, long ago. THe number of pig bones found at archaeological sites indicate that they were eaten by all kinds of people thousands of years ago, although that varied who was domesticating and raising them. Pigs were limited to those who could afford sturdier pens than those required for sheep or goats. On the other hand, pigs presented advantages in cities, since pigs will eat anything, including garbage, and don't need grassy fields. But then, during a period when pork consumption was pretty low already compared to other livestock, the Hebrews enacted a ban on eating pork. Hundreds of years later, Islam also prohibited pork because pigs are considered unclean. Hinduism has no specific restriction on pork, but many Hindus avoid it because of the pig's unclean reputation.

However, these restrictions were never universally observed. And scholars still argue over why the ban on pork was instituted in the first place. Read what archaeologists have discovered about the history of pigs and pork consumption at Archaeology magazine. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: Alexandr frolov)