Neanderthals find clues suggesting that they lit fire
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Although it has been shown that Neanderthals used fire, in recent years it has been much discussed whether they were able to light it. As our species did, the Neanderthals, in the journal Scientific Reports, Andrew Sorensen (Lieden University, Holland) and their companions, have released the first indications that the Neanderthals lit fire with stone tools.
To make the fire you need wood or pyrite and cantil, but so far no remains of fire have been found in usual Neanderthal deposits. In the case of our species, however, countless indications have been found that, striking the pyrite against the stove, the fire was lit. Now, the Sorensen team has studied several stone utensils of the Neanderthals, namely 26 emotives from the Musterian era, and have found remnants of what were beaten against the hard minerals, such as those that remain when hit them with the pyrite. “The conservation of pyrite in the deposits is quite difficult, but the remains of pyrite in stone instruments are quite special, as Sorens has shown in previous works,” explains archaeologist Joseba Ríos Garaizar (CENIEH).
“The debate over the ability of Neanderthals to ignite the fire is due to the lack of direct evidence from fire lighters. This work presents evidence. It is a step forward to show that the Neanderthals lit the fire and surely in the coming years similar examples will appear,” explains Ríos. On the other hand, he warns that there would still be missing pyrite remains and recalls that there are other questions still in the air: “MTAs were used in the Mousterian culture, but in other times, what? The wood hypothesis is also there. And if they were able to light the fire, why in the Quina musterian era there is no indication of the use of fire? How exciting!”
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