Hominid Use of Fire in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene

Abstract

Archaeological data for the use of fire by early hominids are critically examined at over 30 Lower and Middle Pleistocene sites in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The earliest reported occurences of fire from these regions consist of indirect inferences, most of which are considered to be equivocal, for no actual hearths are found until the appearance of Neanderthals at the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The role of natural processes in producing the supposed fire evidence in the archaelogical record is discussed, and a means for evaluating the extant data is presented. It is concluded that before the use of fire by early hominids can be assessed, better documentation for this important development in human evolution is required.