4th Lesson 6 Why Salt? Valuable Little Cubes

Why Salt?

1 Today, salt is given out freely in shakers and packets at our favorite restaurants. We can buy it cheaply at any grocery store. But it hasn’t always been so easy to get salt. This tiny crystal cube has played a much more important role in history than just flavoring our fries. Around the world, cities were founded, roads were built, wars were fought, and trade routes were established, all for one reason: humans can’t live without salt. Literally. Because of this simple fact, salt became a valuable item a long time ago. People who controlled salt had power. Around 2,000 years ago, some of the people with salt—and power—were the Romans.

2 One way Rome controlled salt was by building villages along the Mediterranean coast. This gave them access to the sea where they could harvest salt. One of the first great roads built by Romans . . . is called Via Salarium, or “Salt Road.” It is the oldest road in Italy today. As you might have guessed, it was built to transport salt.

3 As Rome grew, it became a great trading center, and salt was one of the main items traded there. Salt was so important in the daily lives of the Romans that soldiers were paid in blocks of salt. This pay was called salarium argentums or “salt money,” giving us our word salary. In fact, the word soldier comes from the Latin sol dare, meaning “to give salt.”

4 Throughout history and around the world, governments have regulated and taxed salt. . . . Salt played a role in the history of our country, too. In both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, keeping enough salt for the soldiers was important. In these and other wars, enemies have tried to keep salt away from each other. The history of the world is overflowing with stories of salt. What’s So Important About Salt?

5 Human beings can’t live without salt. It is a basic ingredient in our bodies. Salt is in our tears, sweat, saliva, blood, and even in our urine. Without this mineral our cells, nerves, and muscles can’t do their jobs properly. However, too much salt can cause kidneys to work overtime, blood vessels to swell, and blood pressure to go dangerously high.

6 Our health depends on having the right amount of salt in our bodies. Generally, the human body is very good at keeping our salt levels balanced. But sometimes that balance can be thrown off. Our diets, for example, might contain extremely low or extremely high amounts of salt. If this goes on for too long, there could be serious consequences—even death.

7 When early humans survived on the meat they hunted, their bodies got enough salt from the animals they ate. As people learned to grow their vegetables and grains and began to eat less meat, salt became more important. And it was often hard to find. The need for salt and the limited supply of it made salt very valuable!

How is the value of salt different today than it was in ancient Roman times? Include three details from the article to support your response.