What's happened
Researchers at the British Museum have discovered evidence of fire-making by Neanderthals at Barnham, Suffolk, dating back 415,000-400,000 years. This pushes the earliest known use of controlled fire by humans 350,000 years earlier than previous records from France, highlighting advanced cognitive skills and social development.
What's behind the headline?
The discovery at Barnham fundamentally redefines our understanding of human evolution. The evidence of controlled fire 415,000 years ago indicates that Neanderthals and their relatives possessed advanced cognitive abilities far earlier than previously thought. The deliberate transport of pyrite and repeated fire use suggest a sophisticated understanding of fire-making, which would have provided critical survival advantages. This breakthrough implies that early humans could have used fire to extend their activity hours, improve nutrition through cooking, and foster social bonds around the hearth, potentially fueling brain growth and the development of language. The findings also support the idea that technological innovation was not exclusive to modern humans but was shared with Neanderthals, challenging long-held assumptions about human uniqueness. The timing aligns with a period of increasing brain size and behavioral complexity, indicating that mastery of fire was a key driver in human evolution. This discovery will likely influence future research into the origins of human intelligence and social behavior, emphasizing the importance of fire as a catalyst for cultural development.
What the papers say
The articles from The Independent, SBS, Al Jazeera, and the New York Times all highlight the significance of this discovery, with some emphasizing the implications for understanding Neanderthal intelligence and social life. The Independent and SBS focus on the dating and archaeological evidence, noting that the fire was deliberately made and used repeatedly. Al Jazeera underscores the social and evolutionary importance of fire, suggesting it may have even fueled language development. The New York Times contextualizes the find within the broader history of human mastery of fire, noting that previous evidence was limited to much later periods. While all sources agree on the importance of the find, some differ in their emphasis—The Independent and SBS highlight the technological aspects, whereas Al Jazeera emphasizes social and cognitive implications. This divergence reflects the multifaceted impact of the discovery, which reshapes our understanding of early human behavior and evolution.
How we got here
Previous evidence of fire use by humans dated to around 50,000 years ago in France. The new findings at Barnham, Suffolk, include heated sediments, flint tools, and fragments of pyrite, indicating deliberate fire-making by Neanderthals. This discovery suggests that early humans mastered fire much earlier, likely brought from continental Europe via land bridges, and used it for survival, socialization, and possibly language development.
Go deeper
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The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its begin
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Christopher Brian Stringer FRS is a British physical anthropologist noted for his work on human evolution.