Neanderthals were master fire-starters, cave chemistry suggests

[Judi Lynn]

BY TOM METCALFE 31 OCTOBER 2019

Neanderthals were masters at making and controlling fires, suggests new research that found distinctive hydrocarbons from ancient hearths in a cave inhabited up to 60,000 years ago. The study gives weight to the theory that Neanderthals and other early humans were skilled at making fires, rather than just exploiting natural wildfires.

Although it’s sometimes argued that only Homo sapiens could control fires for warmth, light, cooking and tool-making – a skill known as pyrotechnology – the study indicates otherwise. ‘Our research has strengthened the idea that Neanderthals were able to control fire,’ says lead author Alex Brittingham from the University of Connecticut, US.

It also casts doubt on the idea that an inability to make fires contributed to Neanderthals dying out about 40,000 years ago. ‘At least some Neanderthals had the ability to control fire in the same way that modern humans did,’ Brittingham says. ‘If this behaviour was similar between the two species, there is no reason to believe it led to the extinction of the Neanderthals.’

The researchers studied polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in floor sediments at Lusakert-1, a cave in Armenia where Neanderthals lived between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. Light PAHs, with three or four aromatic rings, disperse in the air and are caused by wildfires, explains geochemist Michael Hren from the University of Connecticut, a co-author of the study.

More:
https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/neanderthals-were-master-fire-starters-cave-chemistry-suggests/4010595.article