Scientists Find Evidence Human Ancestors Used Fire One Million Years Ago
Posted on April 2, 2012
Scientists say they have identified the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors. An international team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University found microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal bones and stone tools, dated to one million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. This is 300,000 years earlier than humans were previously thought to be using fire.
U of T anthropologist Michael Chazan, co-director of the project, says, "The analysis pushes the timing for the human use of fire back by 300,000 years, suggesting that human ancestors as early as Homo erectus may have begun using fire as part of their way of life."
Wonderwerk (pictured above) is a massive cave located near the edge of the Kalahari where earlier excavations have uncovered an extensive record of human occupation. Analysis of sediment by lead authors Francesco Berna and Paul Goldberg of Boston University revealed ashed plant remains and burned bone fragments, both which appear to have been burned locally rather than carried into the cave by wind or water. The researchers also say they found extensive evidence of surface discoloration that is typical of burning.
Chazan says, "The control of fire would have been a major turning point in human evolution. The impact of cooking food is well documented, but the impact of control over fire would have touched all elements of human society. Socializing around a camp fire might actually be an essential aspect of what makes us human."
The research was published here the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.