The taming of fire was an event that can be described as a game changer, to use a modern phrase, in the history of mankind. It was the first discovery that set humans apart from animals and ultimately made man the monarch of all he surveys. Since remnants of fire have been found in the caves used by prehistoric man in the Paleolithic Age at the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago, the timing of this great advancement is known. However, the use of fire was confined not only to the purpose of keeping warm and frightening away wild beasts. The flames were also found to be of value in cooking meat and vegetables.
It goes without saying that the fallout was momentous, for not only did the taste of the edibles improve beyond measure, the roasting of the meat and the boiling of vegetables and of water eliminated much of the germs, thereby reducing ailments and assisting digestion. As a result, it is now believed that the exponential increase in the size of the human brain is due to the consumption of cooked food by our ancestors that led to the shrinking of the stomach since it is easier to digest such food. As the stomach contracted, the brain expanded.
The correlation between the size of the brain and of intelligence is obvious. During the 3.5 million years of human evolution, there has been an enormous increase in the size of the brain from 450 cm found in the Australopithecines to 1,350 cm in the modern Homo Sapiens. The increase has led to the primary features that distinguish men from animals, viz tool-making, language, self-awareness and the ability to understand another individual’s mental state. These attributes go hand-in-hand with humour, compassion and the love of music and poetry. That such a transition to a higher mental stage of head and heart has followed the consumption of cooked food confirms the familiar adage that the way to a man’s heart is through the stomach.