Thoughts on the fire pit: The fossil record indicates that the last common ancestor of the genus Homo and the genus Pan (Chimps), was some 5 mya. As the hominid line evolved over the past several million yrs., they eventually acquired fire. At first accidental recoveries from nature, like from lightening strikes. Later, man acquired the capability of commanding fire at will, first using flint and/or the friction principle with wood. Fossil records of planned fire pits exist some 400,000 before present near the mouth of caves in southern France. This means man evolved over the last 0.4 million years in direct association with fire. The center of camp would be the fire pit especially in cold European climates durring the great ice ages. Fire tenders were regarded with utmost respect by the tribe, as evidenced by extant Native American cultures, who called these individuals "fire keepers". Fuel acquisition had to be continuous. As night fell, especially in northern climes women & children essentially existed on the margins of fire pits for warmth and safety for many months at a time. All this means than man literally evolved breathing smoke from birth, iin direct association with fire pits and cooking. The patterns of our cilia in our trachea and bronchi differ dramatically from our closest cousins in the genus Pan who/which did not evolve with fire. Our cilia are much better developed, denser, beat faster, and are designed to continuously remove particulates from smoke from the trachae for deposition into the esophagus. Forensic anthropologists believe this is associated in the genus Homo with the development of fire. It is my personal belief that pipe smoking most closely resembles this long association with fire. Deep inhalation with cigarettes less so. How else to explain the long life spans of Bertrand Russell (98), Pablo Casals (96), Alger Hiss (92), Shelby Foote (89), etc. So I say Enjoy your pipes gentlemen. Our pipes are in essence portable campfires that lend warmth and security throughout our day, much as the fire pit did throughout our evolutionary history.
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