Evidence of cooking 780000 years ago rewrites human history

Evidence of cooking 780000 years ago rewrites human history

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Biotechnology

Context: A study shows that early humans were cooking much further back in history than previously thought. Around one to two million years ago, early humans developed taller bodies and bigger brains. The thinking is that calorie-rich diets, and cooking in particular, drove this change.

About the Study:

• A new study, published in Nature Ecology and Evolution, suggests that early humans first cooked food around 780,000 years ago. Before now, the earliest evidence of cooked food was around 170,000 years ago, with early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals using fire to cook vegetables and meat.
• The study team found their evidence in an archaeological site located in the northern Jordan Valley, in modern-day Israel. The site, called Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, is known to date back to around 780,000 years ago.
• It is believed that Homo erectus communities of the so-called Acheulian culture lived in the region. The communities had a varied diet, including large game, fruit and vegetables, and freshwater fish from the nearby paleo-Lake Hula.
• The study team analyzed the remains of fish teeth (from carp and barbel) found in the proximity of fireplaces at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov. By analysing the crystal structure of the teeth, the team found that they had been cooked under 500 degrees Celsius.
• Until now, no one could prove that Homo erectus cooked food. This is the first evidence that  erectus had the cognitive ability to control fire and cook food.
• People think that the evolution from Homo erectus to  Homo sapiens must have been associated with a change in diet and the use of fire to cook food. There are changes in the jaw and skull anatomy that suggest this.
• Cooking makes meat, fish, and vegetables easier to digest, enabling body and brain growth much more efficiently than eating raw food. It also makes food much safer to eat as it kills off pathogens.
• Sites of settlements and early human activity are always found near freshwater. Fish are a rich source of protein and nutrients and, unlike game animals, are available to eat all year round.
• According to the authors, the water in the wetlands was very shallow, so people don’t necessarily need technology like nets or rods to catch the fish. Authors think Homo erectus used their hands, like people still do with river fish today.