Interesting, lively topic. Why *did* we start cooking meat?

Perhaps it was because someone left the meat for drying too close to the
heat and discovered a new taste sensation.

Perhaps a forest fire fried some animals and someone decided to sample some
of the cooked meat 'just for kicks'.

Or perhaps humans, much like the dogs mentioned in previous posts, first
'taste' with their noses. Raw meat has very minimal aroma (depending on how
'fresh' it is, of course :), whereas cooked meat has tons of aroma. I know
I can't resist the smell of a good barbeque.

Sorry, but I can't buy any of the arguments that propose a quasi-religious
or "it's the way we 'think' we should do it". That's just plain silly. Most
fruits are perfectly palatable when raw, yet new flavors and aromas are
created when cooking those as well. I don't think there's any kind of
quasi-religious reason for apple pie.

Isn't it more likely because we're just very experimental and creative by
nature? (And get bored way too easily :)