A Bioenergetic Approach Favors The Preservation And Protection Of Prey, Not Cooking, As The Drivers Of Early Fire

This study challenges a common assumption about why our early human ancestors first began using fire. Most scientists have believed that cooking was the primary reason early humans like Homo erectus started controlling fire between 1.9 million and 780,000 years ago. However, researchers from Tel Aviv University argue that meat preservation and protection from dangerous predators were actually the main drivers.

The scientists used a "bioenergetic approach" - essentially calculating the energy costs and benefits of different survival strategies. They found that hunting large animals (over 220 pounds) provided dramatically more calories per hour of effort (16,269 calories) compared to gathering plants (1,443 calories). A single large animal like a hippopotamus could feed a group of 25 people for up to 22 days. The challenge was keeping all that meat from spoiling and protecting it from scavengers and predators while the group consumed it over weeks.

When the researchers looked at archaeological sites where early fire use occurred, they consistently found remains of large animals, supporting their theory. They calculated that while cooking does provide some energetic benefits, the energy gained wasn't enough to justify the significant effort required to maintain fires. However, using fire to preserve meat through smoking or drying, and to keep dangerous predators away at night, provided much greater survival advantages.

This research suggests our ancestors may have been more carnivorous than previously thought, relying heavily on large prey for sustenance. While this historical perspective doesn't directly change modern clinical recommendations, it provides context for understanding human metabolism and our evolutionary relationship with animal proteins and fats in the diet.