Researchers discovered burned animal bones in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave, suggesting early human ancestors may have controlled fire nearly 1.8 million years ago [1].
This discovery challenges existing timelines regarding the cognitive development of early hominins. The ability to tend and maintain fire would have provided critical advantages for survival, including protection from predators, and the ability to cook food.
The evidence consists of scorched animal bones found deep within the cave [2]. These remains appear in clusters, which researchers said indicates separate burning events rather than a single natural occurrence [3]. The pattern suggests that early humans, likely Homo erectus or earlier hominins, were deliberately tending fires for warmth and protection [3].
Estimates for the age of these activities vary slightly across sources. Some data place the use of fire between 1.07 and 1.79 million years ago [1], while other reports suggest the activity occurred nearly 1.8 million years ago [1].
Wonderwerk Cave has long been a site of interest for paleoanthropologists due to its deep stratigraphic layers [2]. The presence of these burned clusters suggests a level of behavioral complexity previously unattributed to hominins of this era. By controlling fire, these ancestors could have expanded their habitat into colder regions, and improved their caloric intake through cooking [3].
Because the bones were found deep inside the cave, the likelihood of the fire being caused by a natural surface wildfire is considered low [2]. The intentionality of the fire use points to a significant evolutionary leap in tool use and social organization among early human species.
“Early human ancestors may have controlled fire nearly 1.8 million years ago.”
If these findings are confirmed, they push back the timeline for controlled fire use by hundreds of thousands of years. This suggests that the cognitive capacity for planning and the social structure required to maintain a fire evolved much earlier than previously thought, potentially accelerating the migration of early humans out of Africa.
