The Egyptian origins of jamon serrano

The Egyptian origins of jamon serrano
Originally uploaded by MacYam

This afternoon, after a swim and a bite of döner kabab, we went to the Museo Arqueológico Nacional. There we sought out the finer artifacts that had been looted from the ancient sites that we visited on Mallorca. And there they were, bronze heads of bulls and small terracotta figurines from neighboring Ibiza. (Click on this photo to get to the others) This just added to the mystery for me. Who were these cowboy Talyots who could only manage to build rough mounds of stone but also cast these fine figures in bronze?

Perhaps more importantly, we discovered hieroglyphic evidence of the Egyptian origins of jamon serrano. There it was, in the Egyptian wing, carved in stone, a slave presenting the Pharaoh with a leg of ham, just like the ones we see in the deli down the street.