An Innovative Method Detects a Nonvisual Traces of Fire That Has Been 800,000 Years Ago

One of the most powerful forces on Earth is fire. People's use of fire is widely regarded as a distinguishing trait of intellect that sets us apart from other animals.

In an article published today in PNAS, the scientists describe an advanced, novel method that they have formed and used to identify nonvisual trace amounts of fire dating back at least 800,000 years - one of the earliest known pieces of evidence for the use of fire.

Weizmann Institute of Science researchers working hard to examine that claim, or at least to clarify what constitutes smoke.

The recently developed method may help advance archaeology toward one that is more data-driven and scientific, but perhaps more importantly, it may enable us to comprehend the roots of human history, our most fundamental customs, and our experimental and creative nature.

Discovery of fire

(Photo : BIROL BEBEK/AFP via Getty Images)

Fire requires three essential parts. A fuel must first exist for combustion. Since combustion is mainly an oxidation reaction that releases heat and light, oxygen must also be readily available. Third, a heat or ignition source is necessary for the fire to start, as per TIME.

The presence of charcoal is the main source of evidence for the presence of a flame in the fossil record. This is the plant matter that has partially burned after one fire has indeed been put out.

Charcoal found in rocks formed in Silurian Period, or about 420 million years ago, has been used to date the earliest fire ever seen on Earth.

Although plants had already colonized the land at that time, varying earth's atmosphere oxygen levels meant that the first large-scale wildfires were only discovered later, around 345 million years ago, during the Carboniferous Period.

We are aware of instances in Earth's past when atmospheric oxygen concentrations were higher than they are now. Fires would be extremely hot and more frequent during these times.

According to recent studies, many plants, including some pines, eucalypts, and proteas, that have successfully adapted to arid environments or even require fire to reproduce may have first showed up around about this time, some 90 million years ago.

We can logically only speculate so much. Finding proof of the earliest frequent use of fire, however, is challenging because it can be challenging to spot ancient hearths. Individual incidents are also only occasionally useful; evidence must come from numerous locations.

The ability to manage fire seems to be something that modern humans take for granted. However, we must avoid becoming overconfident.

The nature, scope, and frequency of wildfires are drastically changing as a result of the propagation of non-native grasses like cheatgrass in North America and gamba grass in Australia.

It would be wise for us to remember that fire has played a significant role in the history of Earth for the past 420 million years and will do so long once we are all gone.

The usage of fire

It is believed that ancient hominins, a group that represents people and some of our prehistoric ancestors, first used fire in a controlled manner at least a million years ago, at about the same time that Homo habilis started to diverge into Homo erectus, as per ScienceDaily.

That is not a coincidence because the cooking hypothesis, the working theory, contends that using fire played a crucial role in our evolution by enabling hominins to not only keep warm, make sophisticated tools, and fend off predators, but also to develop the ability to cook.

Meat that has been cooked not only has pathogens removed from it, but it also has a high nutritive value and more effective protein digestion, which supports brain development.

The only issue with this theory is a lack of data. Traditional methods have only been able to uncover widespread evidence of fire use that is no older than 200,000 years old because attempting to find geological remains of pyro technology primarily depends on the identification of modifications caused by the combustion of objects (primarily, a color change).

Even though there is some evidence of fire from 500,000 years ago, it is still scant, only five archaeological sites worldwide offer trustworthy proof of ancient fire.