The earliest ovens appeared in Central Europe as far back as 29,000 BC. These hollowed-out pits dug into the earth were essential components of yurts used to cook mammoth meat. Archaeologists discovered mammoth bone houses at the Ukrainian site of Mezhirich that featured hearths specifically designed for heating and cooking.
Clay ovens first appeared in the settlement of Çatalhöyük around 6600 BC. These ceramic ovens became the heartbeat of pre-dynastic civilizations in Egypt where they were used to create pottery between 5000 and 4000 BC. By 4000 BC the technology had spread to Mesopotamia with examples unearthed at the ancient cities of Ur, Nippur, and Eridu.
James Sharp patented one of the first gas stoves in 1826 and began to commercially produce them by 1834. The first recorded use of a gas oven occurred at a dinner party hosted by Zachaus Winzler in 1802. The Bower's Registered Gas Stove displayed at the Great Exhibition in 1851 set the standard for the modern gas oven.
The first commercial microwave oven was in use in Boston, Massachusetts by 1947. Percy Spencer discovered the heating properties of microwaves in 1946 while studying the magnetron. This discovery led to the patenting of the microwave oven which uses microwave radiation to excite water molecules in food.
The word tandır comes from the Akkadian tinuru which became tanur in Hebrew and Arabic and tandır in Turkish. This cylindrical oven was used in Anatolia during the Seljuk and Ottoman eras to bake unleavened flatbread. The tradition remains central to rural food culture in the Middle East today.