A location in eastern England has exposed proof of the earliest known occasion of humans making and managing flames, a notable discovery that archaeologists contend sheds light on a dramatic shift in the human timeline.
In Barnham, Suffolk, the uncovering of warmed earth that constituted a hearth, heat-fractured flint axes and two pieces of pyrite—a type of rock utilized to generate sparks for igniting tinder—suggests that ancient humans, most likely Neanderthals, were capable of creating and sustaining fires.
“This is a 400,000-year-old spot where we possess the earliest evidence of making fire, not merely in Britain or Europe, but in truth, anywhere else in the globe,” commented Nick Ashton, custodian of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum in a press briefing. Ashton is senior writer of an analysis on the Barnham site that was printed Wednesday in the periodical Nature.
An artist’s depiction of sparks made by rubbing the pyrite against flint. By Craig Williams © The Trustees of the British Museum Craig Williams/The Trustees of the British Museum
When and where people started intentionally making fire and preparing victuals are among the biggest enigmas that have long perplexed scholars of human beginnings.
The capacity to start a blaze would have permitted the people inhabiting Barnham to remain warm, keep off wild beasts, and regularly prepare their sustenance, which would have rendered it more nourishing. And being able to command the fire could have brought functional advantages, such as the advancement of glues and other means, and offered a focal point for communal activity like narrating.
The objects unearthed at the location are 350,000 years older than the preceding known indication of fire-making in the archaeological record, which stemmed from a place in northern France. Ashton mentioned, nevertheless, that it is improbable the skill to light a flame first surfaced at Barnham.
“I surmise many of us had an inkling that there was consistent utilization of fire in Europe around 400,000 years ago. But we lacked the proof,” Ashton stated.
For instance, artifacts point to the presence of fires at sites occupied by humans in Israel, Kenya, and South Africa that date from 800,000 years to over 1 million years ago, according to the research. However, it is hard to exclude the possibility they were uncontrolled vegetation fires that were not initiated by people.
Early humans likely began utilizing fire caused by electrical discharges or other natural sources, perhaps by preserving hot coals for a duration, but it would have been an unpredictable source, per the study.
The discoveries at Barnham, nevertheless, imply that its occupants were able to consistently and purposefully ignite and utilize fire.
The group examined the reddened soil from Barnham and established its chemical makeup differed from what one might anticipate in an accidental blaze. For example, the marker of hydrocarbons suggested greater warmth from the concentrated burning of timber, instead of widespread burning across the terrain. Mineral modification of the sediment also suggested recurring combustion in the identical spot.
However, the definitive evidence was the two fragments of iron pyrite, sometimes termed fool’s gold, which can be employed to strike flint, producing sparks that could have ignited tinder like dry fungus. The naturally present mineral was not accessible in the nearby area, indicating that these individuals grasped its fire-starting characteristics and had searched for the mineral, the researchers documented in the findings.
What is remarkable about this investigation is the broad array of analytical techniques brought to bear on the issue, remarked John McNabb, a professor of palaeolithic archaeology at the Centre for the Archaeology of Human Origins at the University of Southampton. He was not involved in the research.
“Fire offers numerous merits. It can function as a means for protection. It can aid in making your food more wholesome. It can lengthen the daylight hours and make your labor time more prolific for longer. Fire can help unite individuals into groups,” McNabb conveyed via electronic mail.
“But if you fail to manage it, then you remain subject to the environment—all its advantages may be fleeting. Control fire and you start to manage the world surrounding you.”
A heat-shattered hand-axe, one of two found near the 400,000-year-old hearth.
A heat-shattered hand-axe, one of two found near the 400,000-year-old hearth. Jordan Mansfield
The flint axes confirm human presence at the location although no hominin remains have been located at Barnham. Study co-author Chris Stringer, research director in human evolution at the Natural History Museum in London, stated that early Neanderthals were recognized to have dwelled roughly 80 miles away in Swanscombe, Kent, during the same timeframe, making them the most probable group to have made fire at the site. They likely journeyed to Britain from Europe, which at that juncture was linked by a land span, he noted.
“One of the engaging facets now is to use the methods that have demonstrated fire-making at Barnham and determine whether, if we examine other spots with greater scrutiny, we can even locate the identical thing at other locations in Britain, in Europe, perhaps even further afield,” Stringer remarked.
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