An international team of scientists has found the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors at the site of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa.
View from the bottom of the excavated area towards the entrance to Wonderwerk Cave (R. Yates)
The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal bones and stone tools found in the Wonderwerk Cave in a layer dated to about 1 million years ago.
“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,” said Dr. Michael Chazan of the University of Toronto, a co-author of the study.
Micrograph of fragments of ashed plant material found in the Wonderwerk Cave (Francesco Bernaa et al)
Wonderwerk is a massive cave located near the edge of the Kalahari where earlier excavations by Peter Beaumont of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, had uncovered an extensive record of human occupation.
A research project has been doing detailed analysis of the material from Beaumont’s excavation along with renewed field work on the Wonderwerk site.
Analysis of sediment 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 found extensive evidence of surface discoloration that is typical of burning.
“The control of fire would have been a major turning point in human evolution,” said Dr. Chazan. “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.”
