Catching fire

Richard Wrangham proposes a groundbreaking theory that cooking, not just intelligence, was the pivotal factor in human evolution. He argues that the shift from raw to cooked foods led to significant changes in human physiology, such as a smaller digestive tract and a larger brain. This adaptation freed up time for other activities and laid the foundation for social structures like pair bonding and the household. Wrangham's work offers a fresh perspective on how humans became the social, intelligent, and sexual species we are today.