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Charred Remains May Be Earliest Human Fires (Israel - 800k yo)
New Scientist ^ | 4-29-2004 | James Randerson

Posted on 04/29/2004 4:20:49 PM PDT by blam

Charred remains may be earliest human fires

19:00 29 April 04

NewScientist.com news service

Archaeologists in Israel may have unearthed the oldest evidence of fire use by our ancestors.

The site, on the banks of the Jordan River, dates to about 790,000 years ago. There are older sites in Africa, but the evidence from these is much more hotly contested.

The moment that our ancestors discovered how to control fire has long occupied an iconic place in the popular imagination. Chimpanzees, our closest living ancestors, have demonstrated impressive feats of language and tool use, but fire use "is the most human skill that we have", says Nira Alperson an archaeologist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Finding direct evidence for ancient fire use is extremely difficult and the new study is applauded by Derek Roe an archaeologist at Oxford University, UK: "Any small fact you can find is a great triumph."

Ancient hearths

The oldest indications of fire use come from Koobi Fora in Kenya where researchers found patches of discoloured sediment. But suggestions that these were 1.6-million-year-old hearths have failed to convince many researchers.

Now Alperson and colleagues have found compelling, although not conclusive, evidence that one of our ancestors was using fire 790,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. By comparison, the oldest evidence of fire control in Europe dates from around 500,000 years ago.

The team analysed over 50,000 pieces of wood and nearly 36,000 pieces of flint from what was once probably a Homo erectus settlement on the shores of an ancient lake. Flint was examined because it was used for tool making and shows a characteristic pitting when exposed to fire.

Many of the burnt specimens were clustered in two patches, which the team believe were ancient hearths. They also point out the low proportion of burnt remains - only around four per cent of the wood and two per cent of the flint. "If a natural fire had caused it we would have expected a higher percentage to be burned," says Alperson.

Test fire

But Sally McBreaty, an anthropologist at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, is not convinced. She says it would have been good to see the team set up an experimental brush fire and measure what proportion of wood and flint in the undergrowth ended up being burnt.

Everyone agrees on the impact that fire would have had on our ancestors though. "We know for sure that it dramatically changed their lives," says Alperson.

Fire-starters would have been able to migrate to colder regions, drive away predators, get more energy from food by cooking it and enjoy a more cohesive social life.

However, finding out more from the site at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov may never be possible. In 1999, after the samples used in Alperson's study were collected, the local drainage authority destroyed a large chunk of the site.

Journal reference: Science (vol 304, p 725)

James Randerson


TOPICS: Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: charred; earliest; fires; godsgravesglyphs; human; remains

1 posted on 04/29/2004 4:20:50 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam
Artifacts of the early suicide bombers.
2 posted on 04/29/2004 4:23:12 PM PDT by counterpunch (<-CLICK HERE for my CARTOONS)
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To: blam
What I want to know is where's the evidence of the stone-age environmentalists protesting the ecological insensitivity of their fire-using bretheren.
3 posted on 04/29/2004 4:23:37 PM PDT by free2freep
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To: farmfriend
Ping.
4 posted on 04/29/2004 4:27:56 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam; *Gods, Graves, Glyphs; A.J.Armitage; abner; adam_az; AdmSmith; Alas Babylon!; ...
Gods, Graves, Glyphs
List for articles regarding early civilizations , life of all forms, - dinosaurs - etc.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this ping list.
5 posted on 04/29/2004 4:29:43 PM PDT by farmfriend ( In Essentials, Unity...In Non-Essentials, Liberty...In All Things, Charity.)
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To: blam
heh, heh, Fire.
6 posted on 04/29/2004 4:33:40 PM PDT by John Will
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To: John Will
!CHARRED! Remains May Be Earliest Human Fires (Israel - 800k yo)

Playing with fire!
7 posted on 04/29/2004 4:42:23 PM PDT by Samurai_Jack (ta hell with the virgins!)
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To: blam
"The moment that our ancestors discovered how to control fire has long occupied an iconic place in the popular imagination."

Judging by the title, "control" hardly seems apropos.
8 posted on 04/29/2004 4:45:43 PM PDT by SpinyNorman (i)
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To: blam
Found nearby; petrified hot dogs and smores.
9 posted on 04/29/2004 5:38:41 PM PDT by CrazyIvan (Death before dishonor, open bar after 6:00)
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To: CrazyIvan
Found nearby; petrified hot dogs and smores.

No, this is the Middle East-- it was shishkebabs (called shishliq in Israel).

10 posted on 04/29/2004 6:21:13 PM PDT by Lurking Libertarian (Non sub homine, sed sub Deo et lege)
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To: blam
And just where was Smokey the Bear when all this was going on?
11 posted on 04/29/2004 6:31:46 PM PDT by curmudgeonII
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To: blam
It's called lightning strike.....
12 posted on 04/29/2004 6:37:47 PM PDT by Licensed-To-Carry (All American should be extremly proud of our Armed Services. Thank You)
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To: blam
And they wonder why Israel is the only place in the ME with no oil...
13 posted on 04/29/2004 6:38:57 PM PDT by Graymatter
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To: Licensed-To-Carry
How logical. And how easy to overlook the obvious.
14 posted on 04/29/2004 6:58:40 PM PDT by CrazyIvan (Death before dishonor, open bar after 6:00)
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To: Samurai_Jack
!CHARRED! Remains May Be Earliest Human Fires (Israel - 800k yo)

Wonder if it was the Jews or the Palies?

15 posted on 04/30/2004 3:59:44 AM PDT by night reader
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To: blam
"one of our ancestors was using fire 790,000 years ago at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. ...the oldest evidence of fire control in Europe dates from around 500,000 years ago." sO WHERE WAS SOCIETY DURING THIS TIME? Too busy burning down everything to develop? Perhaps it is the lack of trees that marks the earliest civilized humans.
16 posted on 05/01/2004 4:36:52 AM PDT by Henchman (I Hench, therefore I am!)
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To: blam; FairOpinion; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just updating the GGG information, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

17 posted on 02/08/2006 8:40:14 AM PST by SunkenCiv (If you could read my mind, you'd know I dislike Gordon Lightfoot.)
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