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How Cooking Made Us Human

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Renowned Harvard University primatologist Richard Wrangham argues that cooking is the major factor in human evolution. In Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human, he shows that the shift from raw to cooked foods was the key factor in human evolution.

Guests:

Richard Wrangham

Comments [9]

joanne tactikos from Tempe, AZ

I think that becoming toolmakers (as opposed to simple tool users such as chimps) allowed humans to move into a different niche and compete with other carnivores for high protein meat. That allowed for larger brains and only then could we tackle fire. So I the adaptive significance of tool making dwarfs the use of fire.

Sep. 03 2009 03:26 AM
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this is so interesting! from new york city

when did humans start eating dairy from cows?

Sep. 02 2009 01:57 PM
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Paul from new rochelle

Haida indians would bury salmon in the sand for a few weeks to tenderized (bake?)the meat.

Do other cultures process meats like this or does this count as cooking?

Sep. 02 2009 01:56 PM
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hjs from 11211

a wildfire pass through a field. cooked snakes and rats are an easy treat

Sep. 02 2009 01:53 PM
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anonyme

I HEAR ANIMALS IN TEH WILD GO FOR ORGAN MEATS, NOT MUCE MEAT LIKE WE DO

Sep. 02 2009 01:52 PM
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Carol from NYC

Such specious reasoning...

Actually, it's long been held that women either pregnant or caring for infants couldn't hunt while carrying a baby on their hips. Over time, this became a societal rule.

Sep. 02 2009 01:51 PM
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Bobby G from East Village

Cooking preserves meat and fish. I will last longer. Would this have a role in the development of cooking?

Sep. 02 2009 01:51 PM
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Jenny from NYC

Please talk about how your information about metabolism, calories, and weight gain may explain why the scientific establishment has not been able to explain how certain low-fat versus low-carbohydrate diets (in which it is advised that cooking vegetables adds more carbohydrates, etc.) produce the results they do.

example: after measuring calories in and use of calories, they have not been able to explain why certain low-carb diets perform better or as well as low-fat diets for weight loss.

Thanks!

Sep. 02 2009 01:33 PM
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Phyllis from NYC

Then I know a lot of people who are not humans. :-)

Sep. 02 2009 12:58 PM
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