Humans made fire 350k years earlier than previously thought, discovery suggests
a day ago
- #human evolution
- #Neanderthals
- #archaeology
- Humans mastered fire creation 400,000 years ago, much earlier than previously thought.
- Evidence includes scorched earth and fire-cracked hand-axes found in Suffolk, UK.
- Early Neanderthals, not Homo sapiens, likely made these fires in Britain.
- Fire control enabled warmth, protection, food processing, and social development.
- Discovery of iron pyrite fragments suggests intentional fire-making tools.
- Findings imply fire played a key role in human evolution and migration.
- Research published in Nature supports the intentional use of hearths.