As I was replying to some of the comments on the article on the development of farming, the subject of the development of fire came up. And I was lamenting the “fact” that no one ever lets chimps play with fire. However, after making the comment I thought I should check and lo and behold:
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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/03/chimpanzees-can-cook-and-prefer-cooked-food-study-shows
They’ve done interesting experiments with chimps and discovered that they like cooked food.
Additionally, your idea that man learnt to make fire is probably wrong in that the first thing man would have learnt is how to keep a fire going 24/7 and how to transport it. Maybe some of the earliest trade was in fire?