Transcription
Welcome back to Verified Live. Now to a fascinating new story because researchers at the British and National History Museums have uncovered the earliest evidence of humans creating fire. It [snorts] happened more than 400,000 years ago at an ancient human settlement at Barnum Forest near Theford in East Anglia. That is about 350,000 years earlier than the previous best evidence.
Our science correspondent Palosch has had exclusive access to this prehistoric site. The ability to create and control fire changed everything for humans. It provided warmth at will. It enabled us to cook and eat meat, which enlarged our brains. It meant that we were no longer a species clinging on for survival. We could invent and we could create and we could go on to become the advanced species we are today. All of this by bashing rocks together. And it happened here in the forests of Barnum in Suffukk. Archaeologists found fragments of this mineral here that changed the world forever.
>> It's the internal surface of this that you can use by striking a flint to create sparks.
>> Right. You going to give it a go? and give it a go.
>> Iron pyite, also known as fool's gold. It sparked a new golden beginning for humanity. Under the treetops, an incredible secret remained buried until now. So, this is the area um where we discovered this heated sediment. And you can tell it's heated because normally the clay is quite yellowy orange and this was a distinct red. This is where they were gathered around.
>> Yeah. So, this is where the hearth was. You can imagine early humans gathering around this fire and developing the very early use of language.
>> An incredibly special place.
>> Incredible.
>> Nick Ashton and his team found three crucial clues in this scientific detective story. As well as the fire, a hand axe on the left, and next to it, a tiny piece of iron pyite, all in the same spot. compelling evidence that the fire was deliberately created more than 400,000 years ago, 350,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Deep in the secure vaults of the British Museum, the precious evidence is cataloged and analyzed. Nick shows off his discoveries to his friend and scientific collaborator Chris Stringer. He's one of the leading experts on human evolution. The really important thing is of the two pieces of pyite um ideal for creating sparks.
>> A replica skull of the people living in Britain at the time shows that they were not of our species but a different kind of human.
>> What's interesting is that the shape of the skull, little details on the skull suggests that she was probably a very early Neanderal. Even 400,000 years ago, the Neanderiles were beginning their evolution. So we think those fires at Barnum were being made by early Neanderls. Using fire on both vegetable foods and meat foods means that you're liberating more energy to help you run that big brain. The discovery here published in the journal Nature begins a new search for where else different groups of humans including our own species homo sapiens learned to use a technology that made us the inventive and innovative people we are today.
Well, I'm delighted to say Palab is here in the studio with me. Absolutely fascinating this. So, what was it like actually being there? Because fire changed everything, didn't it?
>> It did change everything and just being in this place which was one of the places which was the source of one of the biggest technological revolutions in our in our entire human history. It led to everything else. So, you could tell I was a bit lost for words. You could tell I was incredibly excited because this was the moment that uh humanity gained control over the environment rather than the environment controlling us because the ability to create fire was the the moment that we gained real control. We could be warm when we wanted. We could cook food. Our brains increased in size. And that led to us being able to socialize more, talk to each other. That led to social development. we could collaborate, cooperate, have better hunting practices. A virtuous circle that led to us here.
>> So everything stems from that. How do they actually prove the timeline here?
>> Well, fire has been around ever since there was oxygen. Humans have been able to harness fire through natural fires for about 2 million years. But finding the pyite, finding the hand axes that were heated, and finding the burnt soil altogether provides compelling evidence that they really did know what they were doing, especially since pyite wasn't found in the locality that to bring it in. For them, this fool's gold was the most precious substance on the entire planet and it changed everything. As you say,
>> pal, absolutely fascinating. Thanks very much for taking us through all of that. Do head to the website as well.