The discovery at Barnham, a site in Suffolk, England, has shed new light on the earliest evidence of humans starting fires. Archaeologists have found evidence that Neanderthals used fire for cooking and warmth around 400,000 years ago. The discovery consists of heat-reddened clay, fire-cracked stone, and fragments of pyrite - a mineral not naturally found nearby but very handy for striking sparks with flint.
The site was once an abandoned English clay pit where workers first discovered stone tools in the early 1900s. However, around 400,000 years ago, it would have been a picturesque little spot at the edge of a stream-fed pond surrounded by a mix of forest and grassland. The Neanderthals that lived there likely used fire for both practical and social purposes.
The key evidence for this comes from the presence of pyrite fragments in the sediment around the hearth, which is unlikely to have been caused by wildfires in the area at that time. Archaeologists also found evidence of flint tools being shattered by heat, alongside a scattering of other heat-cracked flint flakes. This suggests that the Neanderthals were actively creating fire.
The discovery has pushed back our understanding of when humans first started using fire to around 400,000 years ago. While it is possible that Homo sapiens in Africa had the ability to make fire before this time, more evidence is needed to confirm this.
To reconstruct what a Neanderthal campfire might have looked like, archaeologists used experiments to compare the baked clay from Barnham to clay taken from near the site. The results suggested that the hearth at Barnham was likely created by heating the clay for 12 or more events, each lasting around four hours at temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius.
This discovery highlights the importance of fire in human history and has significant implications for our understanding of how our ancestors lived and interacted with their environment.
The site was once an abandoned English clay pit where workers first discovered stone tools in the early 1900s. However, around 400,000 years ago, it would have been a picturesque little spot at the edge of a stream-fed pond surrounded by a mix of forest and grassland. The Neanderthals that lived there likely used fire for both practical and social purposes.
The key evidence for this comes from the presence of pyrite fragments in the sediment around the hearth, which is unlikely to have been caused by wildfires in the area at that time. Archaeologists also found evidence of flint tools being shattered by heat, alongside a scattering of other heat-cracked flint flakes. This suggests that the Neanderthals were actively creating fire.
The discovery has pushed back our understanding of when humans first started using fire to around 400,000 years ago. While it is possible that Homo sapiens in Africa had the ability to make fire before this time, more evidence is needed to confirm this.
To reconstruct what a Neanderthal campfire might have looked like, archaeologists used experiments to compare the baked clay from Barnham to clay taken from near the site. The results suggested that the hearth at Barnham was likely created by heating the clay for 12 or more events, each lasting around four hours at temperatures of up to 600 degrees Celsius.
This discovery highlights the importance of fire in human history and has significant implications for our understanding of how our ancestors lived and interacted with their environment.
this is so cool! 
i mean, can u imagine living 400k yrs ago & having to start a fire from scratch? 
️
like, whoa! 
the fact that they used it for cooking & warmth too is just 
amazing. i feel like we're getting closer to figuring out how our ancestors lived & interacted with each other. 
it's all about the little things like pyrite fragments & heat-cracked flint flakes... 
mind blown! 
maybe even had little fires for warmth at night? 
and can you believe we didn’t know this stuff about them till now?! 
I mean, our ancestors were actually pretty smart to figure out fire 400k years ago 
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Were they trying to gain an edge over other humans or was it just about survival? I mean, 400k years ago, resources were scarce and competition was fierce. Did they use fire as a way to boost their social status or create community bonds around the campfire? 
It's all about priorities and trade-offs. We need to ask ourselves: are we using fire as a means to an end or just perpetuating the same old patterns? 
, but it's wild to see how much our ancestors relied on this simple yet powerful tool.
. It just goes to show that even 400k years ago, humans were all about community and connection. And the way they made fire is so fascinating... it's like they were just messing around with some rocks and clay 
. Can't wait to see what other secrets come out of that site! 
But seriously, it's mind-blowing to think that Neanderthals were using fire in a way that was kinda like our modern-day campfires. The fact that we can recreate the hearth at Barnham and get such precise temperatures is just wow. I mean, what else do we know about these guys?
. it's crazy to think that they were using fire like 400k yrs ago 
. and can you imagine what a Neanderthal campsite would've looked like? all those flames and sparks, must've been like a mini fireworks show 
It just shows how resourceful and clever Neanderthals were.
It's crazy to think about how our ancestors lived in these times, and how fire was just a part of everyday life for them 
It's mind-blowing to think about how much it changed their daily lives. No more scrounging around for food or freezing in the cold 
️ They could just chill by the campfire and enjoy some warm vibes 
. It just goes to show how clever and resourceful our ancestors were.
. I'm so glad we've got archaeologists digging up this stuff - it's like they're solving puzzles left behind by history itself 
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. i'm loving how the archaeologists are using experiments to recreate a campfire... imagine being able to sit around a 400k yr old fire, sipping tea or whatever