The earliest known evidence of fire-making by humans has been found 350,000 years before it was previously known in a disused clay pit in Suffolk
The earliest known evidence of humans making fire has been unearthed in the UK, dating back over 400,000 years, according to new research. The discovery was made at an abandoned clay pit near Barnham, Suffolk, situated between Thetford and Bury St Edmunds, suggesting that humans were creating fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Until now, the oldest known evidence of fire-making was from 50,000 years ago in northern France. At the Barnham site, fire-cracked flint hand axes and heated sediments were discovered alongside two fragments of iron pyrite – a mineral used to strike sparks with flint. Geological studies indicate that pyrite is scarce in the area, implying it was intentionally brought to the site for fire-making purposes.
A team led by researchers at the British Museum spent four years proving that the heated clay was not the result of a wildfire. Geochemical tests pointed to repeated fire use at the same location, more characteristic of human activity than wildfires.
The study’s authors state that the controlled use of fire had “profound effects on human evolution”, enhancing survival in harsh environments through warmth and protection from predators. Other advantages included cooking, which expanded the range of foods that could be safely consumed, and the creation of illuminated spaces that became hubs for social interaction.
Dr Rob Davis, Project Curator: Pathways to Ancient Britain at the British Museum, described the hearth area as being about “half a metre in diameter, sort of (a) small campfire”.
Professor Chris Stringer, from the Natural History Museum, suggested that the fires at Barnham were likely created by early Neanderthal people, although their exact identity remains a mystery.
He noted that “around this time period brain size was increasing to its present levels”.
“There’s no doubt that our brains are energetically expensive,” Prof Stringer pointed out, “They use about 20% of our body energy so having the use of fire, having the ability to make fire, is going to help release nutrition from the food which will help to fuel that brain, help to run it and indeed allow the evolution of a bigger brain.”
He went on to say: “Yes, there’s a gap of maybe 350,000 (years) until the next best evidence, but of course we’re not saying there wasn’t a use of fire earlier on.
“And of course we’re not saying fire was … invented at Barnham. We assume that the people who made the fire at Barnham brought the knowledge with them from continental Europe.
“There was a land bridge there. There had been a major cold stage about 450,000 years ago which had probably wiped out everyone in Britain and then Britain had to be repopulated all over again.”
He concluded that having the use of fire would have been beneficial for people “moving to places where the winters are going to be colder”.
“Having the use of fire and the ability to make it, to have that insurance, if you like, against the bad times, when you’ve got fire you can keep warm, you can keep wild animals away, you get more nutrition from your food.
“I think all of these things fed into a feedback where the brain is going to get larger, people are going to be sitting around the fires sharing information, having extra time beyond pure daylight to make things, to teach things, to communicate with each other, to tell stories maybe.
“It may have even fuelled the development of language. I think having this information that it was there 400,000 years ago really means we’ve got a key aspect, a crucial aspect in human evolution.”
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