A recent study published in Frontiers Journal has proposed a new theory on why humans discovered fire: to protect their food from animals and extend the shelf life of meat through smoking and drying. Researchers from Tel Aviv University claim this approach aligns with a broader theory that human consumption of large animals drove major prehistoric developments.
According to co-author Ran Barkai, the origins of fire use are a contentious topic among prehistory researchers. While it is generally agreed that fire was used by 400,000 years ago for domestic purposes like roasting meat and lighting, there is debate about why early humans began using fire before then.
The study analyzed nine prehistoric sites with evidence of fire use between 1.8 million and 800,000 years ago. The researchers found that all nine sites featured an abundance of large animal remains, including elephants, hippopotamuses, and rhinoceroses, which were crucial to early human diets.
Co-author Miki Ben-Dor explained that successfully hunting large animals was a significant energetic investment, and preserving meat for long periods was essential. The researchers propose that humans made fire to both protect their “meat banks” from other animals and to smoke and dry them for preservation.
This new theory predates previous knowledge of curing and smoking meats by hundreds of thousands of years, providing context to one of the most significant prehistoric human developments known to science.
Source: https://gizmodo.com/new-theory-suggests-meat-preservation-not-cooking-drove-early-fire-use-2000611071