Study Reveals Meat Smoking Dates Back Over One Million Years

(MENAFN) A groundbreaking study from Tel Aviv University (TAU) reveals that early humans might have started smoking meat to preserve it nearly one million years ago, offering fresh insights into how prehistoric species like Homo erectus strategically harnessed fire.

Published in Frontiers in Nutrition and detailed in a press release on Tuesday, the research challenges the conventional view that fire’s main uses were limited to warmth and light.

Instead, it highlights fire’s critical role in preventing large quantities of meat from spoiling.

The investigation analyzed archaeological findings from nine ancient sites, spanning from 1.8 million to 800,000 years ago, located in Israel, Africa, and Spain. Although all sites bore evidence of fire, researchers found little trace of conventional cooking markers such as burnt bones.

What stood out was the presence of abundant remains of massive animals—elephants, hippos, and rhinos—at these locations.

The team suggests early humans applied fire to smoke and dry meat, dramatically prolonging its edibility. Considering the challenge of consistently producing and managing fires, the researchers believe that fire use was deliberate and infrequent.

"The meat and fat from a single elephant could feed dozens for weeks," the study emphasized, underlining the necessity of preserving large game to prevent waste and fend off scavengers.

These findings bolster the theory that early human evolution and behavioral patterns were deeply intertwined with dependence on large prey. As the size of hunted animals decreased over millennia, this transformation likely reshaped human hunting tactics, diets, and the early mastery of fire.

MENAFN04062025000045017169ID1109636288