An illustration of hominins exploiting and cooking Luciobarbus longiceps (large barb, Cyprinidae) on the shores of paleo-Lake Hula
Ancient fish teeth discovered at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in Israel provide earliest evidence of our prehistoric ancestors deliberately cooking foodstuff. An illustration of hominins exploiting and cooking Luciobarbus longiceps (large barb, Cyprinidae) on the shores of paleo-Lake Hula - Nutrition and the ability to prepare foodstuffs helped facilitate the evolution of the human species. Considered particularly relevant to the development of the genus Homo in this context are the processes of cooking. However, exactly when our ancestors began to intentionally cook and use heat to prepare foodstuffs was unclear until now. Thanks to fossils uncovered at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site in northern Israel, an international team of researchers headed by Dr. Irit Zohar of the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History of Tel Aviv University, Beit Margolin of Oranim Academic College of Education in Israel, and archaeologist Professor Naama Goren-Inbar of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem - in collaboration with paleontologist Professor Thomas Tütken of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) - have now come some way towards solving this question. By analyzing the chemical and mineralogical composition of discovered fish teeth, the researchers have been able to show that some 780,000 years ago prehistoric humans were already catching fish from what was once Lake Hula and cooking them on the shore. "This is the earliest evidence that has ever come to light that our very ancient ancestors used certain cooking processes to prepare their food," said Dr. Irit Zohar.
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