Cooking is what made us human

The mystery of human evolution is about cooking, it is cooking that led to the humans spiltting from the chimps and the social intelligence that humans had led to their brain becoming bigger. When we cooked it led to social relationships.

So cooking provided some kind of a watershed for humans to split from our chimp-like ancestors?

Yes. I believe the point at which our bodies show adaptation to cooking is 1.9 million years ago. The evidence is in the changes that took place when we evolved from ancestors that were like chimpanzees but were already standing upright. Cooking led to increased energy intake.

What was the result of having more energy?

Maximising energy from food allowed us to lose a third of the large intestine and significantly expand our brain size. It affected our brain because humans were social and there was a premium on being as intelligent as possible in order to outsmart your opponents in competition, ultimately for mates.

Source: www.newscientist.com...

[edit on 21-12-2009 by sunny_2008ny]

reply to post by sunny_2008ny


I thought it was burying the dead.

The idea about cooking comes from the secret societies, lol.



[edit on 12/21/2009 by andy1033]

Cooking may have made you human, but it's eating that keeps me that way.

I've heard this hypothesis before. I'm sure cooking food so we don't get sick from it and use less energy to chew it confers a big evolutionary advantage.

But 'made us human'? It probably helped, but a lot of things did that.

Girls liking men with the gift of the gab, for instance.

Originally posted by Astyanax
Girls liking men with the gift of the gab, for instance.

I would not of thought so, at first.

It is either

1) Humans burying there dead
2) Making fire

Who knows which, but the secret societies think it was fire, and fire symbolizes knowledge.

reply to post by andy1033

I'm trying to explain that it was more than just one thing.

It was many things.

reply to post by Astyanax


Yep i understand, but both the two things there are spiritual. Spiritual things awakened in the brain, brought man knowledge, so you could have all the rest.

This is why the ptb believe it was fire, as this was symbolic, of a light going of in your brain, that is the adam and eve story.

But burying the dead, must of been a massive step too.

But i know what your saying.

Cooking?

I would have thought it was wearing cloths, killing for no reason, giving ones life for another, Feeling another s pain, or maybe realizing that their is more to life than just eating sleeping, and mating LOL LOL.

Cooking? I eat a lot of my foods raw, I guess I'm just a animal

Cooking also allowed us to grow larger brains. The plates that hold our skulls together continue to move until we are well into our 20's. Cooked food required less chewing thus the jaw muscles which prevent our cranial cavity from expanding were minimised.
Fire gave us many advantages including new food sources and to expand our range into areas that were previously too cold. The social aspect of fire gave us evenings to sit aroound together and enjoy the company of others, no doubt encouraging speech.
Fire gave us advantages when it came to tool making as well, strengthening wooden tool handles.
The OP asks a great question about our evolutionary heritage.

reply to post by andy1033


Burying hte dead would actually be a logical thing to do for a settled community. In Eurasia, the biggest threat to people were probably hyenas. And you don't want to leave your dead out to attract a pack of hungry hyenas.

So you have two choices.

You can bury your dead...

Or you can beat the hyenas to the punch and eat the dead (I mean hey, that's lots of lean meat, and the dead person isn't using it anymore)

Ancient people did both, as the situation calls for