We share 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees , hence the fact that their cognitive ability allows them to cook is not so surprising, according to the latest study carried out by Yale University (USA) and published. in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
To arrive at these results, the scientists conducted an experiment with our closest evolutionary relatives within the environment of the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Sanctuary of the Jane Goodall Institute in the Republic of Congo (Africa) to test whether wild chimpanzees would be capable of cognitive ability. necessary to cook like a human being.
Thus, they showed that primates preferred a cooked sweet potato to a raw one, showing that they did not mind waiting a few minutes until the food was cooked , as long as they ate it as they liked best.
In addition to this preference for cooked food, the researchers found that chimpanzees also understood the transformation of raw to cooked food. In the experiment, they placed two devices in front of the primates: one to cook food and a control device that left the food raw. By letting the primates choose which of them they preferred to obtain their food, they all opted for the device that cooked the food .
Finally, in the cooking ability phase of the experiment, after giving the chimps raw sweet potatoes and the cooking device, they left the chimpanzees alone to see what would happen. The following year, the scientists returned to the chimpanzee sanctuary and conducted a new experiment by handing them raw food, pieces of wood and the cooking device, this time placed four meters away from the food. The result was palpable: the primates put the raw food in the cooking device but not the pieces of wood and waited three minutes to get the already cooked food. In addition, another of the most significant conclusions was that although they had the cooking device in front of them, some kept the pieces of raw food to cook them later, which shows their ability to plan for the future.
“If our closest evolutionary relative possesses these abilities, it suggests that once the first humans were able to use and control fire they could also use it for cooking,” explains study co-author Felix Warneken.
