On Wed, 3 Jun 2009 10:13:41 +0100, Geoffrey Purcell
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Well, I can only think of pemmican as the sole example of cooked-food that
truly lasts. Given the very poor evidence of organic matter from Palaeo
times(other than bones), I rather doubt evidence of pemmican will ever be
found really far back.

For ancient evidence of pemmican, scientists also look for the tools of
making pemmican, such as pemmican pounders.

>So, pemmican certainly seems to have been used in the  Mesolithic-era,
practised in North America. No evidence for pemmican in Palaeo Europe has
ever been found, AFAIK, not even c.20,000 to 30,000 years ago.

What did Meso-Europeans use as a long term storage/portability food, if
anything?

>The trouble with cooking is that it leads to oxidised fats, plus storing it
for long periods worsens the process. 

Yes, but doesn't it last several days longer than raw food before spoilage?

>The taste-preference for cooked-food does have some scientific evidence.
There is increasing scientific evidence for the existence of opioids in
cooked-foods(as well as dairy and grains), which are highly addictive and
affect the brain in a morphine-like way. 

Interesting, do you have a reference for the opioids in cooked meats?

> Plus, if the issue of taste for cooked or raw foods was solely due to
previous habits, it doesn't really explain why wild animals often go wild
for cooked junk-foods left in garbage by humans in camp-sites etc. 

Can any dog owners confirm that dogs prefer cooked meat to raw?