The original reasonfor curing meat was to retard spoilage, hence the salt which killed off bacteria. They may not have been aware of what bacteria were until Van Loewenhook's first rudimentary microscope, but to associate brining with product quality certainly took some observation skills.Our forebears diedyoung from a variety of causes, most notably a lack of understanding about sanitary practices we now consider common sense, and simple disease prevention methodology.