The victory of "foodies" began when our ancestors learned to cook...

Review expert: Cai Dawei, Professor of the School of Archaeology, Jilin University

From eating raw meat and drinking blood to cooking with fire, the ability to master fire is considered an important turning point in human evolution. So, when did the cooking technology developed based on the use of fire first appear? In previous studies, the earliest evidence of cooking can be traced back to 170,000 years ago. Recently, archaeologists have discovered remains of ancient humans eating fish, which may push this time back more than 600,000 years.

The Secrets Revealed by Fish Teeth

In June 2022, scientists analyzed the remains of a large number of fish found in the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov (GBY) site in Israel (about 780,000 years ago) and roughly determined the earliest time when humans began to intentionally cook.

Geographical location of the site

Source | "Evidence for the cooking of fish 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel"

These fish (Luciobarbus longiceps) belong to the large Cyprinidae family. Most of the remains left behind are pharyngeal teeth, but fewer bones. Because under low-temperature cooking conditions, fish bones become soft and brittle, and the relatively hard pharyngeal teeth are preserved. So why can the discovery of pharyngeal teeth prove that the fish was cooked?

Micro-CT scan of the head of a long-head barb (Luciobarbus longiceps), showing the location of the pharyngeal teeth.

Source | "Evidence for the cooking of fish 780,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel"

Because heating changes the microstructure and chemistry of bones and teeth, such as causing enamel crystals to expand, scientists can use methods such as X-ray diffraction to identify changes in the size of enamel crystals in pharyngeal teeth, thereby revealing different cooking temperatures.

Through analysis, the temperature of the pharyngeal teeth showed a temperature of 200 to 500 degrees Celsius, so scientists determined that early humans did not throw the fish directly into the fire , otherwise the temperature would have been higher. As for the specific cooking method, whether it was baking, boiling or other methods, there is no definite answer yet.

Humans killing and cooking long-headed pike along the shores of Lake Guhula (Photo by Ella Maru)

Source: Tel Aviv University

But in any case, the fish bones in the ruins do show that humans at that time learned to cook them before eating them. After lighting up the skill of cooking, humans gained more advantages in the competition for survival, and this skill also provided impetus for the rapid evolution of humans.

Why cooking is so important to humans

It is generally recognized that the use of fire is the starting point that distinguishes humans from animals . It is because humans have mastered fire that the way food is cooked has changed and humans began to enjoy cooked food.

High temperature can kill most bacteria, parasites, etc. in food, providing a guarantee for healthy diet; during the heating process, the spatial structure of protein and the cell walls of plants are destroyed, which improves the absorption efficiency of protein and carbohydrates.

Therefore, cooking is more conducive to the body's absorption of nutrients from food, thus providing favorable conditions for the further development of human physical and intellectual strength. It can be said that cooked food is a major label of humans and has become another difference between humans and animals.

Source: pexels

Controlling the heating temperature is an important sign of knowing how to cook food. Cooking is not throwing food into the fire, which means nothing but a burnt carbonized mass.

The birth of cooking skills marks an important turning point in human history, which brought about the rapid evolution of the human brain. One example is the creation of eating tools . A large part of the objects and utensils handed down by primitive tribes are related to cooking and food.

Source: unsplash

The advent of cooking has enabled humans to make better use of plants. Other large animals rarely eat tubers or grass leaves that are difficult to digest, making it easier for humans to obtain these plant foods. For example, although the tubers of plants such as potatoes and sweet potatoes are rich in starch, they taste bad when eaten raw and are difficult to digest. However, when cooked, they are not only delicious but also very filling.

With these easily available high-calorie foods, humans can free up their energy from hunting and foraging, and instead devote more time and manpower to other labor production. The increase in productivity has promoted the prosperity and development of the tribe.

Source: pexels

The emergence of cooking technology has also improved human beings’ ability to resist disasters. Most animals are monophagous, or their survival is more dependent on certain species, but after humans mastered cooking technology, their recipes became wider, and when a species became extinct or its number decreased significantly, it would not have a devastating impact on humans.

Therefore, in the survival competition of the fittest, humans have more advantages than other species with a single food source.

Source: hippopx

The use of fire is an important step in the history of human evolution . We no longer just adjust ourselves to the environment, but also actively change the environment to meet our needs. From the initial use of fire for heating and to drive away mosquitoes and animals, to the later use of fire for cooking and obtaining energy, it was the emergence of cooking that accelerated the development of human body and brain power.

Let us look forward to more research on the development of human civilization in the future to uncover the secrets of human culinary history.