SoylentNews

Runaway1956 [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://www.history.com/news/human-ancestors-tamed-fire-earlier-than-thought [history.com]

A South African cave has yielded what researchers are calling the earliest evidence of fire control by human ancestors. In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team announces the discovery of burned plants and bones from 1 million years ago. Their findings suggest that Homo erectus—not Homo sapiens or Neanderthals—became the first hominin to master flames, possibly in order to cook their food.

Fire control changed the course of human evolution, allowing our ancestors to stay warm, cook food, ward off predators and venture into harsh climates. It also had important social and behavioral implications, encouraging groups of people to gather together and stay up late. Despite the significance of kindling flames, when and where human ancestors learned how to do it remains a subject of debate and speculation. There is even little consensus about which hominins—modern humans, a direct predecessor or a long-extinct branch—first acquired the skill.

This "news" is six years old - but I hadn't heard so much as a hint of our ancestors taming fire a million years ago - or more.

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