Ancient humans controlled fire 400,000 years ago, study finds
London | Desk: The invention of fire is considered a milestone in the history of human civilization. For a long time, scientists believed that ancient humans learned to make fire approximately 50,000 years ago. However, a British archaeological discovery has shattered this belief.
Evidence found in the village of Burnham, about 140 kilometers north of London, suggests that ancient humans had mastered the art of making and controlling fire approximately 400,000 years ago, millions of years before the emergence of modern humans.
This discovery was made by a team of archaeologists from the British Museum, led by Nick Ashton, curator of Stone Age materials at the British Museum in London. During excavations, the team recovered burnt clay in a furnace-like structure, heat-fractured stone axes, and two pieces of pyrite (iron sulfide). Pyrite is a stone that can be used to create sparks to ignite flammable materials. These findings were recently published in the prestigious journal 'Nature'.
According to Ashton, "This is a 400,000-year-old archaeological site. We have obtained the oldest evidence of fire-making not only in Britain or Europe, but anywhere in the world." However, he also clarified that Burnham is not necessarily the place where the art of fire-making first developed, but this evidence is certainly revolutionary.
Previously, 50,000-year-old evidence found in northern France was considered the oldest irrefutable proof of fire-making. But the Burnham site is 350,000 years older. Experts estimate that modern humans (Homo sapiens) emerged in Africa approximately 300,000 years ago and arrived in Europe around 60,000 years ago. The oldest trace of them in Britain is 40,000 years old. This discovery suggests that the knowledge of making fire was already present in other species of the Homo genus, such as Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or Homo neanderthalensis.
Fossils of Neanderthals have been found in Swanscombe, Kent County, Britain, and Atapuerca, Spain, dating back to the same period, raising the possibility that Neanderthals were perhaps the first known humans to use fire. However, scientists say that determining the precise history of fire use is challenging because ash and charcoal are easily destroyed.
Evidence of fire dating back 800,000 to 1 million years has been found in places like Israel, Kenya, and South Africa, but these could have been caused by natural events (such as lightning strikes). The evidence from Burnham, however, including the presence of hydrocarbons and mineral alterations, indicates that the fire was controlled and used repeatedly, rather than spreading naturally.
This discovery will add a new dimension to our understanding of human evolution. Experts believe that the ability to control fire not only provided cooked food and warmth but also strengthened social bonds. Further research will shed more light on this mystery.
