New Evidence Suggests Humans Controlled Fire 350,000 Years Ago
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Suffolk that sheds new light on the origins of human fire control. The findings, published in Nature, suggest that humans were creating and controlling fire as far back as 400,000 years ago - almost 350,000 years earlier than previously thought.
The evidence comes from a disused clay pit in the village of Barnham, Suffolk, where researchers discovered a patch of scorched earth and fire-cracked hand axes. The discovery was made by Dr Rob Davis, a Palaeolithic archaeologist at the British Museum, and his team as part of the Pathways to Ancient Britain project.
According to Prof Chris Stringer, who is part of the team behind the findings, "So early Neanderthals were making fire in Britain about 400,000 years ago. Of course, our species was evolving in Africa, while these people were living in Britain and Europe. We guess that our species, too, would have had this knowledge, but we don't actually have the evidence of it."
The control of fire is believed to be one of the most significant turning points in human history, providing warmth, light, protection from predators, and allowing humans to process a wider range of foods, which supported better survival, larger groups, and freed up energy to fuel brain development.
According to Prof Nick Ashton, the curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum, who co-led the research, "It's taken many, many years to get to the point where we are today. The first inklings of fire first emerged around about 2014."
The discovery was made possible by the presence of two fragments of iron pyrite, a naturally occurring mineral that creates sparks when struck against flint. Geochemical tests showed that a patch of reddened clay had been heated to temperatures of over 700C (1,292F) with repeated fire-use in the same location.
The findings have significant implications for our understanding of human evolution and the origins of modern society. As Ségolène Vandevelde, an archaeologist at the University of Québec in Chicoutimi, noted, "The discovery of pyrite associated with these traces of fire is the icing on the cake, providing the earliest-known instance of fire making by humans."
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Suffolk that sheds new light on the origins of human fire control. The findings, published in Nature, suggest that humans were creating and controlling fire as far back as 400,000 years ago - almost 350,000 years earlier than previously thought.
The evidence comes from a disused clay pit in the village of Barnham, Suffolk, where researchers discovered a patch of scorched earth and fire-cracked hand axes. The discovery was made by Dr Rob Davis, a Palaeolithic archaeologist at the British Museum, and his team as part of the Pathways to Ancient Britain project.
According to Prof Chris Stringer, who is part of the team behind the findings, "So early Neanderthals were making fire in Britain about 400,000 years ago. Of course, our species was evolving in Africa, while these people were living in Britain and Europe. We guess that our species, too, would have had this knowledge, but we don't actually have the evidence of it."
The control of fire is believed to be one of the most significant turning points in human history, providing warmth, light, protection from predators, and allowing humans to process a wider range of foods, which supported better survival, larger groups, and freed up energy to fuel brain development.
According to Prof Nick Ashton, the curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum, who co-led the research, "It's taken many, many years to get to the point where we are today. The first inklings of fire first emerged around about 2014."
The discovery was made possible by the presence of two fragments of iron pyrite, a naturally occurring mineral that creates sparks when struck against flint. Geochemical tests showed that a patch of reddened clay had been heated to temperatures of over 700C (1,292F) with repeated fire-use in the same location.
The findings have significant implications for our understanding of human evolution and the origins of modern society. As Ségolène Vandevelde, an archaeologist at the University of Québec in Chicoutimi, noted, "The discovery of pyrite associated with these traces of fire is the icing on the cake, providing the earliest-known instance of fire making by humans."
so we're talkin 400k years ago and humans already had fire control. that's wild. i mean think about it, no more shiverin in caves all day. can you imagine the brain development tho? all that extra energy for innovation and progress... anyway, gotta say i'm a bit surprised they thought it was only like 2014 or whatever that first inkling of fire started.
It's just mind-boggling how far behind we are when it comes to actual progress. Like, who needs a functioning society when you can just sit around the campfire going "mmh mmh" all day? 
.
. And let's be real, the control of fire is basically the ultimate game-changer - it's like the spark that ignited (pun intended) the next level of human advancement 
.
️
anyway, can you even imagine the whole tribe just chillin by the campfire like "yeah, we got this" 
. The iron pyrite thing is cool tho, but isn't it weird that it's only now that we have the tech to test for it? It feels like were just kinda discovering things because we can now 
.
And what does this all mean for us today? Like is the fact that we can make fire so easily just making us lazy or something? 
. I mean, 400k years ago? That's even older than our parents' grandparents' stories about their "old days"