England’s 400,000-year-old hearth reveals humans’ first controlled fire

Archaeologists in eastern England have uncovered the earliest known evidence of humans deliberately creating and controlling fire, a discovery that could reshape our understanding of human evolution.

The site, located in Barnham, Suffolk, contains a hearth, heat-shattered flint axes, and two fragments of iron pyrite — a mineral used to produce sparks for lighting tinder.

“This is a 400,000-year-old site where we have the earliest evidence of making fire, not just in Britain or Europe, but in fact anywhere in the world,” said Nick Ashton, curator of Palaeolithic collections at the British Museum and senior author of the study published in Nature on December 10, CNN reports.

The find predates previous evidence of fire-making by 350,000 years, previously found in northern France. While it’s unlikely that fire-making first emerged at Barnham, the site provides the first clear proof that early humans could routinely light and maintain fires. Researchers believe the inhabitants were most likely Neanderthals, who lived nearby in Swanscombe, Kent, and could have migrated to Britain across the land bridge connecting it to continental Europe.

The controlled use of fire would have offered numerous advantages, including warmth, protection from predators, and the ability to cook food, making it more nutritious. Fire may also have supported technological development, such as adhesive production, and encouraged social interaction, including storytelling.

Analysis of the site’s reddened sediment revealed chemical signatures consistent with repeated, high-temperature fires, distinct from natural wildfires. The discovery of iron pyrite — not naturally found in the immediate area — strongly suggests that these early humans understood how to use the mineral to generate sparks for fire-making.

Flint axes found at the site confirm human presence, although no hominin bones were recovered. Chris Stringer, coauthor of the study and research leader in human evolution at the Natural History Museum, noted that early Neanderthals are the most likely candidates responsible for the fires.

Experts hailed the discovery as a major breakthrough. John McNabb, professor of Palaeolithic archaeology at the University of Southampton, said, “Control fire and you begin to control the world around you.”

The research team now hopes to apply similar analytical methods to other archaeological sites in Britain, Europe, and beyond to trace the early history of controlled fire-making.

By Vugar Khalilov