Wellfleet Press

Humans are the last remaining hominin species and the only member of the genus Homo to have colonized the entire planet.

The exact cause of this increase is a matter of speculation, but it seems likely that extra meat entered the diet via stone tool use, fueling the bigger brains needed to manage relationships in large social groups.

The benefits of this process include complex language and the ability to develop ever more sophisticated cultural solutions to biological problems.

Our brains today are no different to those of the first Homo sapiens—the only difference is the technology we have developed through each generation building on the achievements of its predecessor.

The human brain is capable of immensely complex processes and needs 20 percent of our daily calorie intake to tick over—more than any other organ.

The earliest known stone tools date to 3.3 million years ago—although it is highly likely that tools made from wood or bone were being used before this, but have not survived.

The earliest known stone tools were made by an unknown hominin species about 3.3 million years ago at Lomekwi in modern-day Kenya.

The first definite evidence of fire use dates to 1 million years ago, but there are claims that fire was used as long as 1.4 million years ago.

Our ancestors’ use of fire broadened their diet by allowing inedible foods, such as starchy and fibrous roots, to be cooked.

Cooking food can massively increase the calories released during digestion and kill harmful parasites and bacteria found in meat.