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Great apes prefer cooked food.

Victoria Wobber1, Brian Hare, Richard Wrangham

  • 1Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. wobber@fas.harvard.edu

Journal of Human Evolution
|May 20, 2008
PubMed
Summary
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Great apes show a preference for cooked food, suggesting early hominids also preferred cooked meals. This challenges the idea that controlling fire significantly preceded the adoption of cooking.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary anthropology
  • Primatology
  • Nutritional science

Background:

  • The cooking hypothesis links cooked food to human evolution.
  • The timing of cooking adoption relative to fire control is debated.
  • A pre-existing preference for cooked food could facilitate its adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether great apes prefer cooked over raw foods.
  • To model potential food preferences of Paleolithic hominids.
  • To assess the role of pre-existing preferences in the adoption of cooking.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted preference tests with captive great apes.
  • Offered various plant and animal food items in raw and cooked forms.
  • Analyzed preferences across different ape populations.

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Main Results:

  • Several ape populations demonstrated a preference for cooked food.
  • Some exceptions to this preference were observed.
  • Results suggest a spontaneous preference for cooked food items.

Conclusions:

  • Paleolithic hominids likely had a pre-existing preference for cooked food.
  • This preference may have been an exaptation of preferences for easily digestible foods.
  • The control of fire may not have significantly preceded the adoption of cooking.