Purpose of Chewing

Why do people chew food? It was long believed that it was in order to break up food into small enough chunks to swallow. Now, however, biomechanics have modelled the strength of human chewing and discovered it is instead to ensure food reaches the state of a firm, swallowable blob. Some other questions raised in the article are why we have fingerprints, which may be used to reduce friction in wet conditions.

Original Article