Study finds humans were making fire 400,000 years ago, far earlier than once thought

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"Until now, the oldest confirmed evidence had come from Neanderthal sites in what is now northern France dating to about 50,000 years ago. The discovery was made at Barnham, a Paleolithic site in Suffolk that has been excavated for decades. A team led by the British Museum identified a patch of baked clay, flint hand axes fractured by intense heat and two fragments of iron pyrite, a mineral that produces sparks when struck against flint."

The Independent seeks donations to fund on-the-ground reporting, investigations, documentaries and to keep journalism free of paywalls by asking supporters who can afford to help. Scientists in Britain uncovered evidence that deliberate fire-setting occurred in eastern England around 400,000 years ago, pushing back the earliest known controlled fire-making by roughly 350,000 years. The discovery was made at Barnham, a Paleolithic site in Suffolk where researchers found baked clay, heat-fractured flint hand axes and iron pyrite fragments. Geochemical tests showed temperatures above 700°C and repeated burning consistent with a constructed hearth rather than a natural wildfire.

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