How Early Humans First Made Fire

The Mystery of Scarce Ice Age Hearths: New Insights from Researchers

Fire is thought to have been vital for Ice Age humans—used for cooking, warmth, light, and crafting tools. However, it’s still unclear why so few well-preserved hearths have been discovered from the coldest part of that period in Europe. Researchers from the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna have recently offered new insights into this mystery.

Through the study of three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine, researchers found that people during the last Ice Age constructed various kinds of fireplaces and mainly burned wood, with possible use of bones and fat as additional fuel sources. “The researchers published the results in the journal Geoarchaeology.”

Archaeological findings reveal that Homo sapiens in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic period, from 45,000 to 10,000 years ago, utilized fire for a variety of purposes.

“Philip R. says that people used fire not only for warmth but also for cooking, tool production, and social interaction.” Nigst, lead author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna. Despite its importance to Ice Age hunter-gatherers, especially during the harshest period between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago, well-preserved traces of fire use from that time are surprisingly scarce.

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Uncovering Prehistoric Hearths: Key Findings in Ukraine

This study is especially important because researchers uncovered and examined three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine using advanced geoarchaeological methods. Techniques like microstratigraphic analysis, micromorphology, and colorimetric analysis allowed the team to identify three basic, flat hearths that burned wood.

Notably, the fires reached temperatures exceeding 600°C, indicating a high level of pyrotechnic skill despite the harsh environmental conditions of the Ice Age.

“The analysis also revealed that humans primarily used wood as fuel during the height of the Ice Age, with charcoal studies suggesting spruce wood. However, they may have also used other materials like bone or fat.”

“Marjolein D. says, ‘We are currently examining whether people deliberately used the animal bones discovered at the site as fuel or simply burned them accidentally in fires exceeding 650 degrees Celsius.'” Bosch, one of the authors and a zooarchaeologist at the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Natural History Museum Vienna.

Advanced Fire Use: Seasonal and Hearth Variations

All three hearths are open and flat, but the new findings indicate that fire use was more advanced than previously thought. “People probably constructed and used the hearths differently depending on the season.” One of the hearths is larger and more robust, implying that it reached higher temperatures.

“Nigst explains, ‘People controlled fire completely and used it skillfully in various ways, depending on its intended purpose.'” However, our findings also reveal that these hunter-gatherers frequented the same location at different times of the year during their seasonal migrations.

Despite these new discoveries, the scarcity of fireplaces from the Last Glacial Maximum remains a mystery.”Did the typical ice-age cycles of freezing and thawing soil destroy most of the evidence?” Murphree asks. “Or did people struggle to find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum?”Perhaps they didn’t use fire at all and relied on other technological solutions?” adds Nigst. By further exploring the role of fire in human evolution, the researchers aim to illuminate one of the most crucial technologies that has contributed to our species’ success in spreading across the globe.

Read the original article on: Scitech Daily

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