Ancient humans caught fire in Europe 50,000 years earlier than scientists thought. Reported by Heriot-Watt University.
Ancient Europeans used fire at least 250,000 years ago for cooking, heating and protection, according to new studies. Previously, scientists believed that people in Europe mastered fire 200,000 years ago. “We found irrefutable evidence that things were burned, and the nature of the flame marks suggests that humans controlled it. They used the fire either for cooking or for preservation. The location of fire pits, a home or sleeping area, living room, kitchen or animal pen,” said archaeologist Clayton Magill. “It shows that they are surrounding something like that,” he says.
Traces of fire were found at the Valdocarros II site near Madrid. Chemical analysis of the coals showed that people deliberately chose firewood with a small amount of smoke and a large release of heat. In the next phase of the project, the research team will examine stone tools found near fire pits to determine if they were used to make fires or cut meat.
Formerly paleontologists saidwhere live “bagels” live obama 550 million years old.