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Article: COOKERY: THE REAL ORIGIN OF SPECIES; Splitting the atom? Penicillin? No, a new book says the greatest discovery in history was the moment an ape dropped some raw meat into the fire.(News)
- Article from:
- Daily Mail (London)
- Article date:
- September 11, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Solo Syndication Limited. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: by William Leith
WHAT would you imagine to be the greatest single discovery in human history -- the one that enabled mankind to take not just a giant stride forwards but an epic leap? The combustion engine, perhaps? The telephone? The computer microchip? No. According to a compelling new book, the single most important scientific discovery took place two million years ago in the plains of modern day Africa, when an ape dropped a piece of meat into a fire. Thus cooking was born, and human history began.
Now, this may seem slightly farfetched.
How could this primordial Gordon Ramsay be greater than, say, Einstein, Alexander Bell, Louis ...