文明创建在用食盐储藏食物的基础上。可以腌制储存食物以后，人类饮食对季节的依赖大大降低，也给长途旅行提供了条件。在漫长的历史中，食盐很难制取，也因此被当做珍贵的贸易物资。在一些时期，盐被当做货币使用。在文化中，盐被当做“价值”的象征。

食盐贸易和城市兴衰、经济繁荣、战争胜负结合在一起。掌握了食盐专营权的人富可敌国。世界各地都为贩盐创建起的“盐路”，如意大利的“Via Salaria”盐路从青铜时代起就被利用。

今天，食盐是廉价而普及的调味料，价格相对低廉。

Salt, NaCl, is an ionic compound made of sodium and chloride ions which has been exceptionally important to humans for thousands of years, because all life has evolved to depend on it. Humans, like all life, need a supply of salt in order to simply survive. Salt's ability to preserve food was a foundation of civilization. It helped to eliminate the dependence on the seasonal availability of food and it allowed travel over long distances. However, salt was difficult to obtain, and so it was a highly valued trade item to the point of being considered a form of currency by certain peoples. Many salt roads, such as the via Salaria in Italy, had been established by the Bronze age.