300,000-Year-Old Hearth Found by the Weizmann Institute of Science (27 January 2014) and the Journal of Archaeological Science (25 January 2014) ssg: Estimates are that humans discovered fire over a million years ago. In this research, evidence of repeated fire use over time suggests that humans had sophisticated social organization as far back as 400,000 years. Perhaps we should look even further back for the origins of society. Rehovot, Israel. Humans, by most estimates, discovered fire over a million years ago. But when did they really begin to control fire and use it for their daily needs? That question — one which is central to the subject of the rise of human culture — is still hotly debated. A team of Israeli scientists recently discovered in the Qesem Cave, an archaeological site near present-day Rosh Ha’ayin, the earliest evidence — dating to around 300,000 years ago — of unequivocal repeated fire building over a continuous period. These findings not only help answer the question, they hint that those prehistoric humans already had a highly advanced social structure and intellectual capacity. Excavations in Qesem Cave have been ongoing since 2000. Using infrared spectroscopy, [scientists] were able to determine that mixed in with the ash were bits of bone and soil that had been heated to very high temperatures. This was conclusive proof that the area had been the site of a large hearth. The researchers think that these findings, along with others, are signs of substantial changes in human behavior and biology that commenced with the appearance in the region of new forms of culture — and indeed a new human species — about 400,000 years ago. Click on the article title to read the complete text at the Weizmann Institute of Science and review the research paper (cf. below). Evidence for the repeated use of a central hearth at Middle Pleistocene (300 ky ago) Qesem Cave, Israel. R. Shahack-Grossa, (Dr.) F. Berna, P. Karkanas, C. Lemorini, A. Gopher, R. Barkai. Journal of Archaeological Science 2014. Highlights — Newly discovered hearth at Qesem Cave, Israel, dates to 300,000 ky ago. — Hearth placed in center of cave surrounded by dense, spatially differentiated, lithic assemblages. — Hearth is large (4m2), possibly delineated by stone, and was repeatedly built and used in same location. — Hearth may reflect development in the nature and intensity of habitual use of fire in the Lower Paleolithic. Abstract A major debate in prehistory revolves around the time and place of the earliest habitual use of fire and the hominin species responsible for it. Here we present a newly discovered hearth at Qesem Cave (Israel) that was repeatedly used and was the focus of hearth-centered human activities, as early as three-hundred-thousand years ago. The hearth, identified based on mineralogical and microscopic criteria, contains two superimposed use cycles, each composed of shorter episodes — possibly the earliest superimposed hearth securely identified to date. The hearth covers ca. 4 m2 in area making it a uniquely large hearth in comparison to any contemporaneous hearth identified thus far, possibly indicating it has been used by a relatively large group of people. In addition, the hearth is located in the center of the cave and is associated with butchered animal remains and a dense flint assemblage. The flint assemblage indicates spatially differentiated meat cutting and hide working activity areas. The central location of the hearth within the cave and the activities associated with it may reflect an embedded perception of space organization of the Qesem Cave inhabitants. Since fire was habitually used throughout the 420-200 ky sequence of Qesem Cave, where preservation conditions are alike throughout, we suggest that this unique hearth may reflect a development in nature and most probably in the intensity of fire use in Qesem Cave, from ca. 300 ka ago onwards. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.11.015 #news #science #scienceeveryday #sciencesunday #medicine #geology #biology #archaeology #anthropology #domestication #society #behavior #QesemCave #Israel #Hearth #MiddlePleistocene #LowerPaleolithic #fire #Micromorphology #spectroscopy #research #abstract #history #culture #sharongaughan
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 14:49:07 +0000
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