Earliest Fire-Making Evidence Found in Britain at 415,000 Years

Archaeologists in Britain have unearthed the oldest known evidence of deliberate fire-making by early humans, dating back approximately 415,000 years to a site in eastern England. The discovery at Barnham in Suffolk reveals that ancient inhabitants intentionally started and maintained fires, pushing the timeline for controlled fire use 350,000 years earlier than previously recorded.

The findings, detailed in a study published in the journal Nature, come from a former clay pit that served as a regular campsite beside an ancient watering hole. Researchers from the British Museum identified a small hearth area, about half a meter in diameter, marked by baked clay sediments, heat-fractured flint hand axes, and two fragments of iron pyrite, a mineral known as fool's gold that produces sparks when struck against flint. Geological surveys confirmed that iron pyrite does not occur naturally in the local area, indicating that early humans transported it deliberately to ignite tinder and start fires.

Over four years, the team conducted extensive geochemical tests to distinguish human activity from natural causes like wildfires or lightning strikes. The evidence showed repeated burning in...