300,000-year-old hearth found: Microscopic evidence shows repeated fire use in one place in time

Upper left: Infrared spectrum of the grey sediments, right, showing that the dominant material is calcite, the mineral of which the wood ash is composed. Lower left: Photograph of the cave during excavation; arrow pointing to the hearth. Upper right: micro-morphological image of the grey sediment showing dark grey particles and patches corresponding to the remains of wood ash. Lower right: Scan of a micro-morphological, thin section showing the layered burnt bones (yellow, brown and black fragments), intermixed with grey sediments.
Credit: Image courtesy of Weizmann Institute of Science

Humans, by most quotes, found fire over a million years back. But when did they actually start to manage fire and use it for their daily demands? That question– one which is central to the topic of the increase of human society– is still hotly disputed. A group of Israeli experts lately discovered in the Qesem Cave, an archaeological site near current Rosh Ha’ayin, the earliest evidence– dating to around 300,000 years earlier– of unquestionable repeated fire building over a continual period. These lookings for not just aid address the question, they hint that those ancient human beings currently had actually a very advanced social structure and intellectual capability.

Excavations in Qesem Cave have been continuous since 2000. The team is goinged by Profs. Avi Gopher and Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University. Dr. Ruth Shahack-Gross of the Kimmel Center for Archeological Science at the Weizmann Institute has actually been associated with this archaeological research given that excavations began, and she collects samples on-site for later detailed evaluation in the laboratory. Shahack-Gross, whose skills is in the recognition of archaeological materials, determined a thick down payment of wood ash in the center of the cave. Making use of infrared spectroscopy, she and her associates were able to identify that blended in with the ash were bits of bone and dirt that had actually been heated up to very high temperatures. This was definite proof that the location had been the website of a huge hearth.

Next off, Shahack-Gross examined the micro-morphology of the ash. To do this, she removed a cubic portion of sediment from the hearth and solidified it in the laboratory. After that she sliced it in to extremely slim pieces– so thin they could be placed under a microscope to note the precise composition of the materials in the deposit and disclose just how they were developed. With this method, she was able to identify a fantastic many micro-strata in the ash– evidence for a hearth that was made use of continuously gradually. These seekings were posted in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Around the hearth location, as well as inside it, the excavators discovered large numbers of flint devices that were clearly utilized for chopping meat. In contrast, the flint items discovered merely a couple of meters away had a various shape, created for various other activities. Additionally in and around the location were multitudes of burnt pet bones– more evidence for repeated fire usage for food preparation meat. Shahack-Gross and her coworkers have pointed out to that this company of numerous “household” activities into various parts of the cave indicate a company of area– and a therefore type of social order– that is regular of modern people. This suggests that the cave was a sort of base camp that primitive people went back to repeatedly.

“These seekings aid us to fix a crucial turning factor in the advancement of human culture– that where people first started to on a regular basis make use of fire both for food preparation meat and as a center of attention– a form of campfire– for celebrations,” she states. “They likewise inform us something about the remarkable levels of intellectual and social development of people living some 300,000 years ago.” The specialists believe that these findings, together with others, are signs of significant adjustments in human behavior and the field of biology that commenced with the look approximately new kinds of culture– and indeed a new human species– about 400,000 years back.

300,000-year-old hearth found: Microscopic evidence shows repeated fire use in one place in time