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Wonderwerk Cave

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science2 months ago•5 min saved

Ancient Sparks: Evidence Pushes Fire Use by Early Humans Back to Over 1 Million Years

A non-invasive analysis of Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa finds burnt bones and heated remains dating from about 1.07 to 1.79 million years ago, likely linked to Homo erectus, well inside the cave rather than at the entrance. This suggests early humans actively used and possibly transported and maintained fire, pushing back the timeline for controlled fire use; researchers used bone fluorescence to distinguish true fire alteration from other changes, with findings published in PLOS One.

via ScienceAlert|

#archaeology #early-humans #fire-use

archaeology2 months ago•3 min saved

Ancient Ashes in South Africa Push Fire Use Back Nearly 2 Million Years

A study of Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa has found charred mammal bones dating to about 1.07–1.79 million years ago, potentially the oldest evidence of human fire use and pushing the timeline back by hundreds of thousands of years. The bones were dated using magnetostratigraphy and cosmogenic burial dating, and burn evidence was confirmed via bone luminescence. While not proving cooking or a defined pyrotechnology breakthrough, the findings suggest repeated fire use that could have shaped hominin behavior, ecology, and evolution during the early Acheulean era.

via New York Post|

#archaeology #fire #human-evolution

archaeology2 months ago•44 min saved

Ancient fire inside Wonderwerk Cave rewrites early human timeline

A new PLOS One study finds repeated burning in Wonderwerk Cave deposits dated to about 1.07–1.79 million years ago, among the oldest known records of hominin fire use. By analyzing 161 small-mammal bones with FTIR and bone luminescence, researchers detected heating deep inside the cave (at least 30 meters in) in distinct clusters, suggesting early Homo erectus populations carried and maintained fire for warmth, light, and protection—well before cooking became widespread.

via Archaeology News Online Magazine|

#archaeology #early-humans #fire-use