The development of fire by ancient people

The development of fire by ancient people was a turning point in human social evolution, which allowed people to diversify protein and carbohydrate food with the opportunity to cook it, develop their activity at night, and also defend themselves from predators.

Most likely, for the first time, fire was obtained during the manufacture of a stone tool, that is, by chance. And then people learned to purposefully get a spark in order to make a fire.

Certificates

1.42 Ma ago: East Africa

The first evidence of human use of fire refers to such archaeological sites of the ancient man of East Africa as Chesovanya near Lake Baringo, Koobi Fora and Ologesalirie in Kenya. The evidence in Chesovanyi is a shard of red clay about 1.42 million years old ^[1] 1 Traces of firing of these fragments indicate that they were heated to a temperature of 400 ° C - to give hardness.

In Coobi Fora, at the FxJjzoE and FxJj50 sites, evidence was found of the use of the Homo erectus fire with an age of about 1.5 million years, with red deposits that can form only at temperatures of 200-400^[1] ° C. Formations resembling firing pits have been found in Olorgesailie district, Kenya. Some fine charcoal has also been found, although it may have formed from natural^[1] fire as well.

In Ethiopian Gabebe, in location No. 8, fragments of ignimbrite were found, which appears as a result of burning, but overheating of rock could also appear as a result of local volcanic^[1] activity. They were among the artifacts of the Ashel culture created by H. erectus.

In the middle of the Avash River valley, conical formations with red clay were found, which is possible only at a temperature of 200 ° C. These findings suggest that the wood may have been burned with the expectation that the fire should be away from^[1] its habitat. In addition, burned stones were found in the Avash Valley, but volcanic rocks were also present in the area of ​ ​ the ancient site.

790-690 thousand years ago: Middle East

In 2004, the Bnot Ya'akov Bridge parking lot in Israel was discovered to prove the use of the H. erectus fire or H. ergaster (man working) about 790 - 690 thousand years ^[2] accessdate = 2007-11-12}}. In the Kesem cave, 12 kilometers east of Tel Aviv, evidence was found of the regular use of fire about 382-200 thousand years ago, at the end of the early Pleistocene. A significant number of burnt bones and moderately heated earth masses suggest that near the fire ^[3]

700-200 thousand years ago: South Africa

The first undisputed evidence of human use of fire was found in South African Swartkrans. Several burnt stones were found among Acheulean tools, stone tools, as well as stones with marks applied by man^[1]. The area also shows early evidence of "H. erectus" carnivory. Cave of Hearths Cave in South Africa contains burned rocks with an age of 0.2-0.7 million years, as well as in other areas - Montagu Cave Cave (0.058-0.2 million years) and Klezis River Mouse (0.12-0.13 million years).^[1]

Convincing evidence was found in the area of ​ ​ Kalambo Falls in Zambia - during excavations, several artifacts were found indicating the use of fire by people: scattered firewood, charcoal, red clay, carbonized stems of grass and plants, as well as wooden accessories, possibly burned. The age of the location, determined by radiocarbon analysis, is approximately 61,000 years, and according to amino acid analysis - 110,000 years^[1].

The fire was used to heat silcrit stones in order to facilitate their subsequent processing and manufacture of tools of culture ^{[4] [5] [6]} Studies compare this fact not only with the Stillbay site, which has an age of about 72 thousand years, but also with sites that can number up to 164 thousand years^[4].

200 thousand years ago: Europe

Numerous sites in Europe also show evidence of the use of the H. erectus fire. The oldest was found in the village of Verteskölös, Hungary, where evidence was found in the form of burnt bones, but without charcoal. Charcoal and wood are present in Torralba and Ambrona, Spain, and Acheulean stone products are 0.3-0.5 million years old^[1].

In Saint-Esteuve-Janson, in France, there is evidence in the form of fires and reddened land in the Escale cave. These fires are about 200 thousand years old^[1].

Far East

In Sihoudou, Shanxi province, burning is evidenced by discovered black, gray and gray-green mammalian bones. In Yuanmou, China, Yunnan Province, another ancient site with blackened mammalian bones was discovered^[1].

Similar blackened animal bones and charcoal deposits among "H. erectus" fossils have also been found in Trinil, on the island of Java.

China

In Zhoukoudian, China, evidence of the use of fire is between 500,000 and 1.5 million years old ^[7] = 2011-08-24}. The conclusion of the use of fire in Zhoukoudian is based on the discovered burnt bones, burnt coal, and stone artefacts^[1][8] in the 10 Locust Fossils. Bone remains have been characterized as charred rather than manganese-stained. These residues also showed the presence of an infrared spectrum characteristic of oxides, and bones with a turquoise tint were later reproduced in the laboratory by fire treatment of other bones found in Layer 10. In the parking area, a similar effect could be the result of exposure to natural fire, as well as the effect on white, yellow^[8] and black bones. The layer 10 is ash containing silicon of biological origin, aluminum, iron and potassium, but there are no residues of wood ash such as silicon compounds. Against this background, it is possible that the fires "were formed as a result of the complete disintegration of silt and clay interlayers with red-brown and yellow fragments of organic matter, mixed in places with fragments of limestone and dark brown completely disintegrated silt, clay^[8] and organic matter." This ancient site in itself does not prove the extraction of fire in Zhoukoudian, but a comparison of blackened bones with stone artifacts recently suggests that people used fire while living in the Zhoukoudian cave.

Changes in behavior and evolution

Fire and the light that comes from it has made major changes in human behavior. ^[9] was no longer limited to the day's time = 2007}. In addition, many large animals and biting ^[10][1]' archivedate = 2012-06-17}}. The fire also led to improved ^[10][8]

Richard Wrongham from Harvard University argues that cooking plant foods could have caused accelerated brain development during evolution, as polysaccharides in starch-containing foods became more digestible and, as a result, allowed the body to absorb more calories {^[11][12]

Changes in diet

Stahl believed that since substances such as cellulose and starch, which are found in the greatest amounts in stems, roots, leaves and tubers, are difficult to digest, these plant organs could not have been a major part of the human diet before the use of fire ^[13] Instead, plants containing large quantities of monosaccharides and disaccharides - seeds and juicy fruits - were eaten. The content of toxins in seeds and similar carbohydrate products also affected the diet. Thus, cyanogen glycoside found in linseed^[13] and cassava became non-toxic when cooked. Teeth indicated H. erectus and their wear the use of such food ^{[14] [15]}}}.

The preparation of meat, as evidenced by the burnt and blackened bones of animals, facilitates its consumption and improves the absorption of proteins, making meat more digestible ^{[16] [17]}The amount of energy needed to digest cooked meat is lower than raw meat, and cooked gelatin collagen and other connective tissues "promote the absorption of carbohydrate^[17] molecules." Cooking on fire also kills disease-causing bacteria and parasites.

The theme of the development of fire in literature and cinema

The theme of the development of fire by ancient people was devoted to his fantastic novel "The Struggle for Fire" (1911) by the French writer Roni Sr. The novel was filmed twice - in 1914 and in 1981.

Literature

• Шаблон:Book

Links

• For 700 thousand years, people in Europe did not use fire