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Human Ancestors May Have Used Fire Far Earlier Than We Thought, Study Reveals
ScienceAlert • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers have pushed back the timeline of early human fire use to between 1.07 and 1.79 million years ago, based on evidence found in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave, likely involving Homo erectus.
- The team used a novel, non-invasive fluorescence technique to identify heat-altered animal bones, distinguishing burnt fossils from those altered by other chemical processes over time.
- Burnt remains were found deep inside the cave alongside other signs of human occupation, suggesting early humans actively used and maintained fire rather than merely observing natural wildfires.
- This discovery supports the idea that early humans incorporated fire into their daily lives, potentially transporting and preserving it in protected spaces over extended periods.
- Wonderwerk Cave continues to be a critical archaeological site, providing some of the earliest evidence of indoor living and controlled fire use by ancient humans.
