The use of fire by early humans, primarily as a source of heat and for cooking, is one of the earliest technological innovations our species mastered.
Although our mastery of the flame has existed since long before historical recordkeeping—another complex behavior unique to humans—scholars have long wondered when and where it first began, and precisely how early human ancestors learned to harness it.
Now, research by English archaeologists may be bringing us closer than ever to having an answer to this longstanding question.
How Humans Harnessed the Flame
“Controlled fire use provided adaptive opportunities that had profound effects on human evolution,” write the authors of a new study appearing in Nature. The benefits of fire included the warmth it provided, although it was also beneficial in helping early humans ward off dangerous predators, providing light, and other functions that helped our ancestors not only survive, but grow and develop over millions of years.
With its initial use springing from the opportunistic harvesting of naturally occurring fire, humans over time learned to create it “from scratch” by inducing sparks to ignite wood and other flammable materials. The question at the heart of humanity’s ancient, enigmatic relationship with fire remains how and when such intentional creation of fire first began.
Determining this has been hindered by a range of factors, one being that, by its nature, fire is a destructive force and is fed with perishable materials that inevitably burn away. Some resources, like wood that may have been used in the creation of fire, if they weren’t burned themselves, are unlikely to have survived anyhow.
Equally problematic is making the distinction between which fires were started by humans, versus those that occurred naturally.
Earliest Use of Fire by Humans Uncovered?
“Although geochemical methods have improved interpretations of heated deposits, unequivocal evidence of deliberate fire-making has remained elusive,” the study’s authors write.
At least, until now.
“Here we present evidence of fire-making on a 400,000-year-old buried landsurface at Barnham (UK),” the researchers write. Evidence supporting their findings comprises sedimentary evidence that had been subjected to intense heat, as well as flint handaxes which show signs of fracture due to exposure to fire.
These crucial pieces of evidence were discovered, the researchers say, “alongside two fragments of iron pyrite—a mineral used in later periods to strike sparks with flint.”
The presence of pyrite is a significant clue, since past knowledge of the geology at Barnham in the United Kingdom already illustrates that the mineral is rare—the obvious implication being that it was brought to the area, likely with the intention of using it for fire-making.
An Unprecedented Look at Early Human Fire Use
What the new findings suggest, given the dating of the materials at Barnham to around 400,000 years ago, is that Europe’s ancient Neanderthal inhabitants were actively using geological resources—and potentially other methods too—for starting fires.
Use of fire would have offered these ancient hominins more than just an edge in terms of survival, since the use of fire also promoted a range of social behaviors, such as gathering at night around a heat source, as well as remaining awake during the nighttime hours thanks to the presence of a source of illumination.
Adaptive behaviors, too, such as purification of food sources through cooking, would also have been offered by early use of fire, which improved the quality of nutrient sources these ancient hominins thrived on. Such factors all may have played a significant role in the evolution of the brains of these early humans.
The team’s study, “Earliest evidence of making fire,” was published in Nature on December 10, 2025.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.