ABSTRACT
Once upon a time in food packaging — long, long ago — pottery and glass were the benchmarks. These heavy, hard structures could be closed with pottery, glass, or cork to protect against theft, animals, and ether, the purported perpetrator of food and drink spoilage. Wine or beer resulting from protecting the grapes, grapejuice, or grain could be drunk later, and sometimes even tasted better than the original. Sometimes the resulting liquid tasted like vinegar and could be used for further food preservation. Milk
curdled to cheese, a more stable form of this nutrient-laden elixir. Might the goatskin — or the calf stomach — packaging have enhanced the product contents? Were these antiquities the beginnings of active and intelligent packaging?
