Our earliest ancestors lived in small bands of several dozen people, and their numbers were only a few tens of thousands at most. Initially, plants which have little energy per weight were consumed by people. Because meat provides more energy per weight than plants, it is a more effective way to gain the protein needed for living. Our ancestors eventually discovered that eating meat reduced the amount of time and energy they had to spend searching for sustenance. Initially, they killed animals and consumed the raw flesh, but they soon discovered that the meat from animals killed in wildfires and cooked in such a way was easier to digest, making it easier to use the protein. Initially, people would purposefully start wildfires to slaughter and cook animals. On Earth, most animals construct nests. However, most animals leave their nests when they have fulfilled their needs and construct new ones as necessary. Only seven species on Earth exhibit eusociality the ability to create and protect permanent nests including humans. Humans became the dominant species on Earth mostly because of our eusocial tendencies. The ability to manage fire at campsites, our “nest,” in order to cook meat significantly increased the division and specialization of work, trust, and cooperation behaviors that today characterize what it is to be human.
