Towards an interpretive framework for heated ostrich eggshell: An actualistic study

•Ostrich eggshell fragments have been recovered from archeological sites that date to over one million years old.•Ostrich eggs contain 2000 calories.•Cooking Ostrich eggs increases their digestibility.•Understanding if ostrich eggs were cooked or not is important for understanding human use of this resource.•This study documents color changes that result from heating whole ostrich eggs and egg shell fragments.