Oldest evidence of fire-lighting comes from early humans in Britain

About 400,000 years ago, a group of Neanderthals, or their ancestors, in Britain struck flint with pyrite and lit a fire repeatedly in the same place. Archaeologists studying the site believe it is the earliest evidence ever found of humans starting fires.

Early humans may have been opportunistic. using fire for about 1.5 million years. But it is likely that these hominids simply used fire, which was ignited by other means, such as lightning strikes.

Evidence of increased use of fire increased in Europe around 400,000 years ago. However, until now we have only had direct evidence that humans can control fires. approximately 50,000 years ago.

Nick Ashton The British Museum in London says there are three important pieces of evidence from the site its team studied at Barnham Quarry in Suffolk: pyrite, heated sediments and heat-split hand axes.

Pyrite is an extremely important mineral in the history of mankind and fire because when struck against flint it produces sparks which in turn can ignite kindling such as dry grass and start a fire. However, pyrite does not occur naturally near the quarry, so it must have been brought there by ancient people. “Pyrite is definitely a deciding factor,” says Ashton.

But the reddish layer of sediment left behind by the fire is almost as important, he says. Combustion alters the iron minerals in the sediment and therefore can change their magnetism. Laboratory experiments showed that the reddish clay sediment may have been burned a dozen times – possible evidence that people returned to the same place and started fires repeatedly.

Heating the flint can make sharp tools easier to handle, but overheating can cause the flint to split, as happened with the hand axes found at Barnham. Tests showed they reached temperatures of over 700°C, so Ashton suspects they were heated accidentally.

Ashton says there is growing evidence that people living half a million years ago had a range of cultural and technological skills, including making fire.

“Early Neanderthals, and no doubt other modern human species, were far more capable than we often give them credit for. [for]”,” says Ashton. “Starting a fire is not easy and requires knowledge of the sources of pyrite, its properties when struck by flint, and what kind of tinder to use to turn sparks into flames.”

John Gowlett The University of Liverpool in the UK says that, based on new discoveries, it is “very likely” that people 400,000 years ago regularly used fire and even produced it.

“Early people certainly knew about fire, but finding burned objects along with tools does not automatically mean that fire is under human control,” he says. “If a location has repeated human occupation and repeated signs of fire, that's a good indication of human control because natural fires don't recur very often.”

Human origins and quiet walking in prehistoric southwest England

Immerse yourself in the early human periods of the Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age on this easy walking tour.