The moment the earliest known man-made fire was uncovered
But who were these people? A skull of people living in Britain at that time shows that they did not belong to our species, but to another type of human.
“The shape of the skull, the little details on the skull suggest that she was probably a very ancient Neanderthal. As early as 400,000 years ago, Neanderthals were beginning their evolution. So we think these fires at Barnham were caused by early Neanderthals.”
The research team believes the Barnham outbreak is one of several outbreaks that spread across Europe around the same time. But so far, this is the first place where people can be shown to have actually made fires rather than just tending natural flames. Professor Stringer believes that similar technology probably existed at other sites and that groups crossing the land bridge that existed between Britain and the rest of the European continent brought this knowledge with them.
“These people probably brought with them the knowledge of fire making. Having instant fire when you needed it, where you needed it, would have been very important in helping these people adapt to this British environment.”
Our species, Homo sapiens, did not arrive in Barnham until 350,000 years after these fires. The exact date our species first sparked remains unresolved. But experts believe that once a human species develops the technology, the idea spreads… well, like wildfire.
The discovery – published in the journal Nature – marks the start of new research aimed at finding out where different groups of humans, including our own species, Homo sapiens, learned to use technology that has made us the inventive and innovative people we are today.
Illustrations by Jodi Lai
