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Control of fire by early humans
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The control of fire by early humans was a turning point in human cultural evolution that allowed for humans to proliferate due to the incorporation of cooked proteins and carbohydrates, expansion of human activity into the night hours, and protection from predation. Reheating on the sherds found at the site show that the clay must have been heated to 400°C to harden.
   At Koobi Fora, sites FxJjzoE and FxJj50 show evidence of control of fire by Homo erectus at 1.5 Ma BP, with the reddening of sediment that can only come from heating at 200—400°C.

Far East

In Xihoudu in Shanxi Province, there's evidence of burning by the black, gray, and grayish-green discoloration of mammalian bones. Another site in China is Yuanmou in Yunnan Province, where blackened mammal bones have been found. Fire in Zhoukoudian is suggested by the presence of burned bones, burned chipped-stone artifacts, charcoal, ash, and hearths alongside H. erectus fossils in Layer 10 at Locality 1. With the light from fires, the activity was no longer restricted to the day time. In addition, animals in general avoid fire and smoke. Richard Wrangham of Harvard University argues that cooking of plant foods may have triggered brain expansion by allowing complex carbohydrates in starchy foods to become more digestible and in effect allow humans to absorb more calories.

Changes to diet

Stahl suggested that because of the indigestible components of plants such as raw cellulose and starch, certain parts of the plant such as stems, mature leaves, enlarged roots, and tubers wouldn't have been part of the hominid diet prior to the advent of fire. Instead, the diet consisted of the parts of the plants that were made of simpler sugars and carbohydrates such as seeds, flowers, and fleshy fruits. The incorporation of toxins into the seeds and similar carbohydrate sources also affected the diet, as cyanogenic glycosides such as those found in linseed, cassava, and manioc are made non-toxic through cooking.
   The cooking of meat, as evident from burned and blackened mammal bones, makes the meats easier to eat and easier to attain the nutrition from proteins by making the meat itself easier to digest. The amount of energy needed to digest cooked meat is less than raw meat, and cooking gelatinizes collagen and other connective tissues as well as "opens up tightly woven carbohydrate molecules for easier absorption."Further Information

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