News Archaeology

Fire used regularly for cooking for 300,000 years

Hearth in Stone Age cave suggests shift to regular fire use in Middle East

ancient hearth remnant

BAR-B-CLUES  Analyses of light-colored sediment in a 300,000-year-old fireplace, including this roughly 3-square-centimeter patch, revealed bits of burned bone and charred wood embedded in wood ash.

R. Shahack-Gross/Qesem Cave Project

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Human ancestors regularly built fires, possibly for cooking, starting around 300,000 years ago, say researchers excavating a Middle Eastern cave.