Who Mastered Fire?

The heated archaeological debate about which hominids first started cooking.

Richard Wrangham, an anthropologist at Harvard, claims that hominids became people—that is, acquired traits like big brains and dainty jaws—by mastering fire. He places this development at about 1.8 million years ago. This is an appealing premise no matter who you are. For those who see cooking as morally, culturally, and socially superior to not cooking, it is scientific validation of a worldview: proof that cooking is literally what makes us human. For the rest of us, it means we have a clever retort the next time one of those annoying raw-food faddists starts going on about how natural it is never to eat anything heated above 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

There’s one problem with Wrangham’s elegant hypothesis: It’s hardly the scientific consensus. In fact, since 2009, when Wrangham explained his theory in the book Catching Fire, several archaeologists have come forward with their own, wildly divergent opinions about what is arguably the oldest intellectual property debate in the world. Who really mastered fire, in the sense of being able to create it, control it, and cook with it regularly? Was it Homo erectus, Neanderthals, or modern humans? [...] slate.com

Actualización 25-10-12. ¿Quién dominó primero el fuego y el arte de cocinar?
Richard Wrangham (izquierda), antropólogo de Harvard, afirma que los homínidos se convirtieron en personas, es decir, adquirieron rasgos tales como cerebros grandes y delicadas mandíbulas, por dominar el fuego. Él coloca este desarrollo hace alrededor de 1,8 millones de años. Es esta una premisa atractiva, no importa quién seas.

Para aquellos que ven el cocinar como moral, cultural y socialmente superior a no cocinar, es la validación científica de una visión del mundo: la prueba de que la cocina es, literalmente, lo que nos hace humanos. Para el resto de nosotros, eso significa que tenemos una respuesta inteligente la próxima vez que una de esas molestas dietas de comida cruda comience hablando de lo natural que es no volver a comer nada caliente por encima de 46 grados centígrados.

Hay un problema con la elegante hipótesis de Wrangham: con ella es más difícil el consenso científico. De hecho...