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Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

Author: Richard Wrangham.

Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human

Author: Richard Wrangham.

$17.99 $1.99
Item #: D20492
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2010
Publisher: Basic
ISBN: 9780465020416
Ever since Darwin presented his Theory of Evolution, the development of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But here, primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: when our hominid ancestors adapted to using fire and began cooking their food, their digestive tracts shrank and their brains grew. Tracing the cont... More
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Ever since Darwin presented his Theory of Evolution, the development of humans has been attributed to our intelligence and adaptability. But here, primatologist Richard Wrangham presents a startling alternative: when our hominid ancestors adapted to using fire and began cooking their food, their digestive tracts shrank and their brains grew. Tracing the contemporary implications of our ancestors' diets, Wrangham argues that cooking became the basis for pair bonding and marriage, created the household, and even led to a sexual division of labor.

"[A] fascinating study…. Wrangham's lucid, accessible treatise ranges across nutritional science, paleontology and studies of ape behavior and hunter-gatherer societies…. A tour de force of natural history and a profound analysis of cooking's role in daily life."—Publishers Weekly


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