The exact time when the early hominids they began to use fire in a controlled way. Paleoanthropologists estimate that it would be approximately a million years ago , although they actually lack explicit evidence for this for such early dates. That is why the work just presented by a team from the University of Utah is interesting. .
His thesis, completely new, points to a new chronological spectrum that goes back the human use of fire a couple of million years ago , when the climate was drier and woody plants were giving way to grasses, so that the frequency of natural fires would increase . Following this line, the llamas would often burn seeds and tubers, facilitating their chewing and subsequent digestion, which would provide more energy to their consumers. In addition, they would force many animals to leave their underground burrows, expanding the possibilities of hunting and, therefore, of protein contribution , essential for brain development.
"The evidence shows that other animals use fire to feed, so it seems very likely that our ancestors did so too" explains Kristen Hawkes , one of the researchers. Added to this is the fertilization of the land that produces its burning and the incitement to move to get to safety or follow fleeing herds, leading to expansion for new territories.
The fact is that lately it seems that this issue of fires It especially attracts the attention of paleonathropologists and prehistorians . A year ago there was another similar study, in this case carried out jointly by the Universities of Arizona and Haifa , only that their solutions were rather inverse:even admitting the million years for the beginnings, they calculated much more recent dates in the control of the fire in a habitual way, around 350,000 years ago .
To do so, they based their analysis on the remains of hearths in eleven Levantine Paleolithic sites . According to Steven Kuhn , of the University of Arizona, “There are all sorts of interesting evolutionary developments inherent in how fire is incorporated as an element of technology and even social life, that we haven't really looked at because we're mostly focused on a primary use.
But beyond providing warmth and keeping predators away, the fire led to the kitchen breath, which translated into a nutritional improvement and, therefore, a starting point for social relations . For Kuhn there is evidence that the adoption of fire meant a change in common spaces where they lived, causing their reorganization.