While the English term spatula did not emerge until the sixteenth century, the tools are much older. Early humans in ancient Babylonia and Egypt used ancient versions of these kitchen tools that consisted of bone or wooden paddles for scraping, cutting, and turning food. The Iron Age (circa 1200-550 BC) brought significant developments in spatula design when people created and adjusted various kinds of tools for specific tasks. Spatulas come under the category of lever tools created during this period. Historians believe lever tools, like spatulas, proliferated in design and creation during this period when humans were better able to make and alter them for distinct purposes. Since that time, spatula design and development has continued to evolve, leading to today’s modern versions of the kitchen tool.