780,000 years ago they grilled fish on coals – In Israel the oldest evidence of cooking over fire

Scientists have discovered in northern Israel, near the banks of the Jordan River, in an area that was once a lake, the world’s oldest evidence of the controlled use of fire for cooking food, specifically of fish 780,000 years ago, about 600,000 years older than anything previously found. It is a large freshwater fish, carp or bream, at least two meters long. The earliest certain evidence of fire cooking to date dates back to about 170,000 years ago.

Researchers from three Israeli universities (Hebrew Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan, Tel Aviv), in collaboration with scientists from the Natural History Museum of London and the German Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, led by archaeologist Irit Zohar, made the publication in the journal about “Nature Ecology & Evolution” issues of ecology and evolution. The discovery of the find, which however involves a degree of doubt, was made in the Gesher Benot Yaakov archaeological site.

The question of when our ancestors began to use fire to cook, has been a matter of intense scientific dialogue and controversy for at least a century. The new study highlights, according to the researchers, “the enormous importance of fish in the lives of prehistoric people for their diet and economic stability.”

Two million years ago the first fish

The researchers analyzed fish teeth found in large quantities in nearby ancient Lake Hula. By studying the structure of the crystals in tooth enamel, they concluded that the teeth had been exposed to temperatures of 200 to 500 degrees Celsius suitable for a good roast (the exact method of cooking remains unknown) and not on an accidental fire. The people then living in the area were probably Homo erectus.

The transition from raw to cooked food was a pivotal point in human evolution and behavior. Cooking reduces the necessary energy consumption that allows food to be broken down and digested, thereby freeing up energy for other activities, including the brain’s mental functions.

Some scientists consider cooking, especially fish, a “quantum” leap in human cognitive development, the key catalyst for the evolution of our ancestors’ brains. Some get to the point to claim that eating fish is what made us human. Even today, components of fish such as omega-3 fatty acids, zinc and iodine are considered to contribute to the development of brain.

Researchers also estimate that the fishing and cooking of shallow freshwater fish in areas of the Middle East greatly aided the mass “exodus” of our ancestors from Africa. Our ancestors are believed to have caught the first fish about two million years ago, while they brought fire under their control 1.7 million years ago, reports APE-MPE.

But exactly when they started roasting them on fire remains an open question, as it is difficult to prove that an ancient fire was lit for cooking and not just for warming people. Even finding burnt remains of animals on a hearth does not necessarily mean that they were cooked, because our ancestors may have simply eaten them raw by the fire and then thrown the leftover food into the coals.