✓ Smithsonian MagazineScience & Systems
Burned bones push human fire use back 1.8 million years, to Homo erectus
Burned bones from Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa suggest Homo erectus was using fire 1.8 million years ago, nearly doubling the oldest known evidence.
In Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa, burned bones found in a dirt layer linked to Homo erectus point to fire use roughly 1.8 million years ago, nearly doubling the oldest previously accepted evidence. Researchers say these early humans had probably not mastered fire-making; instead, they likely moved and maintained flames from natural fires.
The find reshapes a key chapter in human prehistory.
Why it mattersPushing human fire use back to 1.8 million years shifts understanding of when our ancestors gained the ability to cook food and reshape their environments.
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