New Delhi: Researchers have uncovered what is believed to be the oldest evidence of deliberate fire-making—at a site in UK’s Barnham village 400,000 years ago.
The finding pushes back the origin of this crucial human capability by 350,000 years. Until now, the earliest known fire-making site was discovered in France 50,000 years ago.
The discovery at Barnham, a village in Suffolk, included a fire pit, flint handaxes and two fragments of iron pyrite—a mineral capable of producing sparks when struck with flint—according to the study published in the journal Nature.
“Here we present evidence of fire-making on a 400,000-year-old buried land surface at Barnham (UK), where heated sediments and fire-cracked flint handaxes were found alongside two fragments of iron pyrite—a mineral used in later periods to strike sparks with flint,” the researchers wrote.
The site, located in a disused clay pit, had been excavated previously, revealing evidence that early humans had visited and left stone artefacts. The latest excavation began in 2013.
Researchers believe the location served as a hunter-gatherer camp frequented by homo heidelbergensis, an early human ancestor. Evidence from nearby sites suggests Neanderthals were also living in the region during the same period.
The research team–led by archaeologists Nick Ashton and Rob Davis from the British Museum’s Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, along with Marcus Hatch and Simon G Lewis from Queen Mary University of London’s School of Geography, and Sally Hoare from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Archaeology, Classics ans Egyptology–found multiple indicators of intentional fire-making.
Beyond iron pyrite, they discovered red sediment that appears to have acquired its colour from heat exposure, alongside chemical traces consistent with burning wood. The flint handaxes showed signs of wear and damage likely caused by exposure to high temperatures.
“Geological studies show that pyrite is locally rare, suggesting it was brought deliberately to the site for fire-making,” the study said.
The evidence indicates early humans were actively creating fires rather than simply maintaining flames from naturally occurring blazes, the researchers said.
They emphasised that the emergence of this “technological capability” provided significant social and adaptive benefits, including the ability to cook food—particularly meat—on demand, which could have proved crucial for human brain development and evolution.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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