Evolution of Fire

The human brain has evolved around fire. Just think about cavepeople sitting around a fire and telling stories. Our ability to speak and communicate verbally in complex ways has its roots in fire. Fire gave our early ancestors light, safety from predators and warmth, 150,000 years before it was used to cook food. 

We used to eat our food raw. It wasn’t until 250,000 years ago that we had the idea to cook our meats over the fire. After cooking our meats and tough root vegetables, we were able to get more nutrients, which meant less time and energy looking for and digesting food. This allowed more time thinking, speaking, and making things like tools and art. This helped our brains grow, and for us to evolve.

Harnessing fire gave human beings the safety, free time, and material capability to start doing the things that make us human –  cooking and eating richer and more digestible foods and communicating through language. Nowadays, we may not need to know how to build a fire outdoors. However,  in the wilderness, it remains one of the most important skills and tools for survival.