Early humans were bringing fire into caves 1.8 million years ago
Jun 24, 2026
A new study suggests early humans were using fire in South Africa’s Wonderwerk Cave as far back as 1.79 million years ago. Researchers found burned bones deep inside the cave, where natural wildfires could not have reached, indicating that fire was likely carried in and maintained by human ancesto
rs. The discovery pushes back the timeline for fire use and reveals surprisingly sophisticated behavior long before humans could create fire on demand. ...read more read less