Imagine a world without fire. No warmth, no cooked food, just raw existence. For early humans, mastering fire wasn’t just a comfort; it was a game-changer! Many scientists believe cooking, made possible by controlled fire, even helped our brains grow bigger, freeing up resources from digestion. So, understanding *how* our ancestors lit those first flames is a huge puzzle for researchers.
Now, a remarkable new piece of that puzzle has been found in an old clay pit at East Farm, England. Palaeoanthropologists have uncovered the oldest evidence yet that early humans weren’t just *keeping* natural fires going, but actually *creating* them from scratch, 400,000 years ago!
This incredible discovery pushes back our understanding of deliberate fire-setting by hundreds of thousands of years. Previous evidence suggested our ancestors learned to spark fires around 50,000 years ago. But this new site shows Neanderthals – yes, Neanderthals! – were the ingenious fire starters.
How do we know? Researchers, led by Nick Ashton of the British Museum, found clear signs. The ancient clay ground was intensely baked, not by a wildfire, but by human-made hearths. Flint tools nearby also showed signs of being heated. The most exciting find? Two pieces of pyrite, a mineral that sparks when struck with flint. Since pyrite isn’t naturally found in the area, it strongly suggests these resourceful Neanderthals deliberately brought it in to ignite their fires – their very own Palaeolithic “tinderboxes”!
This isn’t just about a discovery; it’s a peek into the incredible ingenuity and advanced cognitive abilities of our ancient relatives, proving once again that the spark of innovation runs deep in human history.
