Back
57· Steady
Health & Science4h 48m ago
A team of international researchers found evidence of the earliest use of fire in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, dating back to 1.8 million years ago.
Archive Window: 7 Days Left
Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa
Who
Dr. Liora Kolska Horwitz, Prof. Michael Chazan, international researchers, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Toronto
What
A team of international researchers found evidence of the earliest use of fire in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, dating back to 1.8 million years ago.
When
Wed, 17 Jun 2026 02:37:30 GMT · 4h 48m ago
Where
Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa ·
Why
New research, published in PLOS ONE, used an innovative technique to detect signs of burns on fossilized bones, pushing back the origin of intentional fire use by several hundred thousand years.
The Frontline Impact
How this affects you
This discovery significantly extends the known timeline for intentional fire use by early human ancestors, informing our understanding of early human behavior and technological development. The new detection method could also broaden future archaeological discoveries.
Story chain
3 events in this thread- Currently Reading4h 48m agoA team of international researchers found evidence of the earliest use of fire in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, dating back to 1.8 million years ago.
- Health & Science4h 48m agoA team of international researchers, including Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Dr. Liora Kolska Horwitz, has found evidence of the earliest use of fire in the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.Open article
- Health & Science4h 48m agoA team of international scientists found evidence of the earliest use of fire in the Wonderwerk Cave, pushing back the origin of intentional fire use to as early as 1.8 million years ago.Open article