300,000-year-old firepit found in Israel could be the first example of a social campfire
The fire-pit found near Tel-Aviv could hold the secret to the beginnings of social culture among early humans
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Humans may have used fire as a social focus 300,000 years ago, a new study into a cave in Israel suggests.
Full of ash and charred bones, the 6.5 feet wide hearth discovered in the Qesem Cave, 11 miles east of Tel Aviv, could help archaeologists learn more about the development of human culture.
It also puts into question the popular theory that Homo sapiens arose in Africa 200,000 year ago.
Fragments of stone tools used for killing and slicing animals found a few feet away from the pit, alongside layers of ash, indicate the fire was used repeatedly over time as a sort of base camp
Ruth Shahack-Gross of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel said the findings could point towards a time when humans first began to regularly use fire both for cooking meat and as a focal point for social gatherings.
“[The findings] also tell us something about the impressive levels of social and cognitive development of humans living some 300,000 years ago,” Ms Shahack-Gross said.
The study conducted by Ms Shahack-Gross and her colleagues, which was published in the 'Journal of Archaeological Science', argues that whoever built the pit must have had a certain level of intelligence.
Experts have debated over which homini species –comprising of the Homo genus- was first responsible for using fires in a controlled manner. Evidence found in Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa suggests that fire was used in this way at least 1million year ago, while other anthropologists argue that the teeth of a Homo erectus had adapted to cooked food over 1.9 million years ago.
Archaeologists discovered other traces of fire at the Qesem Cave when it was uncovered over a decade ago during the construction of a road to Tel Aviv.
Researchers thought remains including scattered deposits of ash, clumps of soil that had been heated to high temperatures, and the remains of large animals, had been left by pre-historic cave dwellers up to 400,000 years ago.
A 2010 study into the traces caused controversy in the archaeology world as it questioned the theory of Homo sapiens originating in Africa, but the archaeologists were unable to draw a concrete conclusion from the evidence.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments