An international study with the participation of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found signs of burning in bones from Wonderwork Cave in South Africa. The findings indicate the use of natural fire deep inside the cave, long before early humans probably knew how to light a fire themselves.
Credit: Wonderwerk Cave Project
New research suggests pushing back the timeline of one of the most important moments in human evolution: the use of fire. An international team of researchers has found evidence of the repeated use of fire in Wonderwork Cave in South Africa, in archaeological layers estimated to be between 1.07 and 1.79 million years old. The findings were published in the journal PLOS One. (PLOS)
The research was conducted as part of an ongoing collaboration between Dr. Liora Kolska-Horwitz of the National Natural History Collections of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who co-directs the Wonderwork Cave project with Prof. Michael Hazan of the University of Toronto, and researchers from Spain, Argentina, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Portugal and Israel.
Wonderwork Cave, located in the Kalahari Desert, has long been recognized as one of the most important sites for studying the early use of fire. In 2012, members of the same research team published evidence of deliberate fire use in the cave about a million years ago. The new study suggests that the earliest traces at the site may be even older, dating back as far as 1.79 million years ago.
Tiny bones that revealed a big story
Credit: Wonderwerk Cave Project
The question of when early humans began using fire remains one of the most difficult issues in archaeology. At such ancient sites, signs of burning are often subtle, fragmented, and difficult to discern. Burnt remains can disappear, blend in with other layers, or appear similar to changes caused by natural processes.
In the current study, the researchers used a new method based on the light-emitting properties of bone that has been exposed to high heat. When such bones are illuminated at certain wavelengths, they emit a characteristic glow. Combining this method with familiar chemical tests allowed the researchers to identify burned bones with a high level of confidence, without destroying the fossils.
The researchers examined hundreds of tiny animal bones, most of which were brought to the cave in the distant past by owls. Because these remains naturally accumulated on the cave floor, they provided the researchers with an independent record of events that occurred at the site.
A fire deep in the cave, not a forest fire
One of the important findings is the location of the burned bones: about 30 meters inside the cave. Such a location is far from the likely impact range of natural forest fires outside the cave. The researchers also note that no remains of guano were found in the layer examined, so the possibility of spontaneous combustion as a result of the accumulation of bat droppings is ruled out.
The layer where the fire marks were found is associated with tools from the Early Eocene period, and may be related to Homo erectus. According to the researchers, there is no evidence here that early humans knew how to light a fire whenever they wanted. The more likely explanation is that they used natural fire, such as fire created by lightning strikes or savannah fires, brought it into the cave and kept it there for some time.
The team also suggests an interesting possibility: owl pellets, which contained tiny rodent bones, may have been used as fuel, creating the burnt bones found in the cave's layers.
"Evidence of fire from such ancient sites is often subtle and difficult to detect," said Dr. Kolska-Horwitz. "Our study provides new tools for identifying traces of ancient fire and reveals that fire was repeatedly present deep within Wonderwork Cave."
She said, "These discoveries show that early humans were not just passive observers of natural fires. They actively engaged with fire and integrated it into their lives."
The evolutionary significance of the find is broad. Fire provided warmth, light, and protection from predators, and later also allowed for cooking. Even if early humans did not yet know how to light a fire themselves, the mere ability to move it to a protected place and maintain it indicates an important stage in the development of human behavior.
The researchers estimate that the new method could be used in the future at other archaeological sites, and help understand the process by which fire transformed from an occasional tool into one of the central technologies in human history.
מקור:
Marin-Monfort MD, Shaw CL, Natalio F, Grossman L, Andrews P, Campos J, et al. "New evidence for Early Pleistocene use of fire at Wonderwerk Cave (South Africa)", PLOS One, 2026. (PLOS)
Short FAQ:
Does the study prove that ancient humans knew how to make fire 1.79 million years ago?
No. The researchers emphasize that the findings indicate the use of natural fire and its maintenance in the cave, but not the ability to light a fire at will.
Why are the findings from Wonderwork Cave important?
Because the burned bones were found deep inside the cave, where natural forest fires were not supposed to reach.
What was the new method in the research?
The researchers used the light-emitting properties of bones exposed to high heat, combined with chemical tests, to identify burned bones without damaging the fossils.
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