Harvard anthropologist Richard Wrangham speaks on 'What Diet Does to Make Us Human" April 25th

“The Natural Cook: What Diet Does to Make us Human” by Richard Wrangham, Ph.D., is the topic of the University of New England’s 2008 William D. Hamilton Memorial Lecture at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, April 25, 2008 in the College of Health Professions Lecture Hall on the Westbrook College Campus in Portland.
 
One of the special features of human behavior is that we cook our food. When did our ancestors learn to cook and what impact did this have on our evolution? During his lecture, Wrangham will discuss these important questions about human nature, including whether cooking might be a crucial component of what it is that makes human beings what they are.
 
It has recently become apparent that humans are biologically adapted to eating cooked food, prompting a substantial revision of human evolution theories. Cooking has pervasive influences on energy gain, time-budgets and food distribution, the effects of which can account for diverse features of human adaptation, including important aspects of anatomy and social organization.

In addition, the origin of Homo erectus 1.6 - 1.9 million years ago seems likely to have resulted from the development of cooking, following adaptation to meat-eating in Homo (Australopithecus) habilis. While much remains to be learned about the biological consequences of cooking and cooked diets, current evidence suggests that cooking is a key aspect of diet that underlies human uniqueness.
 
Richard Wrangham
Richard Wrangham, Ph.D., is the Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. His work focuses on the behavior of chimpanzees in the wild, which he has observed in Gombe (Tanzania) and Kibale (Uganda). Wrangham was one of the first primatologists to study chimpanzee coalitional violence, and his book Demonic Males (co-authored with Dale Peterson) popularized his work on the influence of ecology on the evolution of primate social behavior. He is a recipient of the Rivers Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Baran-von-Swaine Award. In addition, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.