Earliest Hominin Fire Use Uncovered at Wonderwerk Cave

An international team examined Stratum 11 of Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa, and identified charred mammal bones dated between 1.07 million and 1.79 million years ago. The bones lie ~100 feet from the entrance, a position that excludes accidental wildfire. This constitutes the oldest direct evidence of hominin-associated fire.

Nautilus Magazine

Earlier finds at Wonderwerk Cave, including a 1-million-year-old bone and heat-altered tools, set the benchmark for early fire use. Fire is viewed as a transformative technology that provides warmth, light, predator deterrence, and cooking, factors linked to brain growth and complex societies in early hominins.

Nautilus Magazine

Researchers used bone luminescence—high-energy blue light causing a red glow—to confirm heating. Sediment ages were constrained by magnetostratigraphy and cosmogenic burial dating, anchoring the fire-related layer within the early Acheulean (?1.76 million to 130 000 years ago).

New York Post

The authors state that the find offers the potential to refine understanding of hominin pyrotechnology, its behavioral significance, and its ecological underpinnings during the early Acheulean. They note the burned bones indicate repeated fire use in the cave, suggesting hominins could maintain flames.

Nautilus MagazineNew York Post

Investigators caution that the evidence does not prove fire creation or routine cooking. The micromammal bones likely derive from owl pellets and may have served as fuel. Their clustered distribution near the entrance implies hominins transported fire from local wildfires rather than mastering fire-making.

Nautilus Magazine

The study extends the earliest fire-use horizon by up to 700 000 years, yet the oldest confirmed fire-making tools date to a Neanderthal site ~400 000 years ago. This discrepancy leaves a gap between sustained fire use and proven ignition technology.

Nautilus Magazine

• “the potential to refine our understanding of the emergence of hominin pyrotechnology, its behavioral significance, and its ecological underpinnings during the early Acheulean (the period from 1.76 million years ago (mya) to about 130,000 years ago).” — Study authors

New York Post

• “Read more: “We Didn’t Start the Fire” The bones weren’t brought to the cave by hominins, however.” — Researchers

Nautilus Magazine

• “Because they were found roughly 100 feet from the cave entrance, the team ruled out a wildfire incursion.” — Researchers

Nautilus Magazine

• “Importantly, the team says the evidence doesn’t point to these early hominins creating fire, nor does it suggest they were using it for cooking.” — Researchers

Nautilus Magazine

The authors note that extending “the chronology of one of the world’s earliest paleo-fire records” opens avenues for additional investigations into fire-related behavior across other early Acheulean sites, potentially clarifying the transition from fire maintenance to fire production.

New York Post