The invention of the fork as a dining utensil cannot be attributed to a single individual. Forks date back to ancient times, with the oldest known forks made from bone found in China during the Bronze Age (2400–1900 BC). Forks were also used in ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt, primarily for cooking or serving rather than eating. The personal table fork, as used for dining, likely originated in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, where it was in common use by the 4th century. One notable early record is from the year 1004 CE when Maria Argyropoulina, a Byzantine princess, used golden forks at her meals, which was unusual and frowned upon at the time. The fork spread through Italy and became common in the 14th century, later popularized in France by Catherine de Medici in the 16th century. It gradually spread across Europe and eventually to the rest of the world. In summary, the fork evolved over thousands of years from ancient implements to the modern table utensil, with no single inventor but rather a gradual cultural adoption and refinement, notably beginning from ancient China and the Byzantine Empire to Italy and France in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
