Earliest evidence of making fire

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Evidence indicates early hominin control and use of fire at multiple African and European sites, including Chesowanja, Koobi Fora, Swartkrans, and Wonderwerk Cave. The temporal range spans the Lower and Middle Pleistocene with debates about timing and habitual versus occasional use. Analytical approaches include microstratigraphy, FTIR spectrometry, high-resolution spatial analysis, and taphonomic criteria for recognizing burned materials. Interpretations engage with functional hypotheses such as cooking and behavioural inferences about hominin activities. Methodological rigor and site-specific data are central to distinguishing in situ fire use from natural burning and post-depositional processes.

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