Oldest known evidence of the controlled ignition of fire
Article Date: 10 December 2025
Article URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03735-9
Article Image: Image
Summary
A multidisciplinary team reports compelling evidence for the oldest known controlled use of fire from a site at Barnham in southern England dated to about 400,000 years ago. The researchers present multiple lines of consistent evidence — including traces suggesting deliberate ignition using iron pyrite to create sparks — and argue these finds indicate hominins were not merely maintaining wild fires but actively starting them. The work combines contextual archaeology with mineralogical and analytical techniques to strengthen identification of ancient fire use.
Key Points
- The site at Barnham (southern England) is dated to around 400,000 years ago.
- Evidence points to deliberate ignition, possibly using iron pyrite to make sparks.
- Authors used a multidisciplinary, contextual approach (archaeology + mineral / analytical methods) to build a consistent case.
- This is argued to be the oldest known example of controlled fire use, not merely opportunistic hearths.
- Findings have implications for understanding hominin behaviour, technology and control of fire much earlier than some previous claims.
Context and Relevance
The study matters because clear identification of intentional fire-making is notoriously difficult. By combining multiple analytical techniques and strong contextual evidence, this paper raises standards for recognising deliberate ignition in the deep past. It links to ongoing debates about when hominins gained reliable control of fire — a key threshold for cooking, social life and technological development — and builds on recent work refining methods and dates for early human activities.
Why should I read this?
Short answer: because this study could shift the timeline on when our ancestors learnt to make fire. It’s got solid methods and a neat twist — using pyrite sparks — so if you care about human evolution, tech origins or archaeology, it’s worth a quick look.
Author style
Punchy: the author lays out the significance plainly and backs it with method-driven evidence. This is a high-impact claim supported by strong analytical work — read the full paper if you want the details, because the methods are what make the claim convincing.