Did cooking make us human ? tonight 9pm

[phoenix]

Richard Wrangham of Harvard University has developed the idea that learning to cook and hence produce large amounts of rapid energy is what made the difference between human and ape. He suggests this is what enabled our brains to grow and become human. It is also what shaped our human behavioural patterns. If correct , it very much changes the idea about what our 'natural' foods are. There are for example people that suggest the 'right' foods are those that can be eaten raw, thus excluding tubers and grains.This idea suggests that being able to eat these things is what made humans different.
There is a horizon documentary about this at 9pm UK time. (less than an hour so rather short notice) but will be on iplayer afterwards (for those in the UK... I can't use it )
I have read his book and found his arguments convincing, but I hope that this programme both gives enough detail about his thesis and also gives alternate views .
Will watch and see.

 

[sugarless sue]

phoenix

Posts: 1000
Joined: 08 Nov 2008 08:18

Congratulations on the 1,000 posts Phoenix.

 

[cugila]

Well done Phoenix. Always great stuff and always well researched. Congratulations on the 1001 posts.

Ken....... :wink:

 

[phoenix]

Lots of time wasting :lol:
still got a few years before I get anywhere near your post numbers.

Very disapointed by the programme .It looked at man the hunter and meat, but competely ignored his other half the gatherer (just like the early male anthropologists did). Even though it demonstrated the difference in energy between cooked yams and raw, the possible significance in human evolution wasn't mentioned. I think the producers proabably ended up with too much information and it was heavily edited ;resulting in a simplistic account with bits missing. If anyone watched the programme and would like to read more(probably not, paleontology is one of my interests but not everyones :wink: ) there is plenty on the internet.
Heres a NY times article
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/16/science/of-tubers-fire-and-human-evolution.html?pagewanted=1
Now how many posts is that?