The Discovery of Fire

Material Clay lumps, stone tools, wood, and seeds Instrumentation SEM, magnetometer Analysis Technology 

Questions What is the earliest evidence for the intentional use of fire  

Sillen. A. 1988. Evidence from the Swartkrans cave for the earliest use of fire. Nature 336 464-466. 

Harris. 1985. Fire and its roles in early hominid lifeways. The African Archaeological Review 3 3-27. 

Goren-Inbar. N... Alperson, N., Kislev, M.E., Simchoni, O., Melamed, Y., Ben- Nun, A.. Werker. E., 2004. Evidence of hominid control of fire at Gesher Benot Ya aqov, Israel. Science 304 725-727. 

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The first chemical reac ions. such us the discovery of fire, were rot consciously applied us arts and recipes" that led io chemistry Perhaps the oldest conscious application cf chemistry by humans was lliDI of the action of yeasts or sugar in baking and brewing, or ihe somewhat less well dctined process of Looking. 

The conversion of one form of energy into another has always been vital to the existence of man man consumes food to liberate the chemical energy stored therein by means of oxidation. The discovery of fire by primitive man is a good example of transforming chemical energy present in the wood into heat and allowed man to consume cooked foods and ward off predators. Windmills, steam engines, hydroelectric plants, nuclear plants, and so on, all have a common purpose the conversion of one form of energy into another. 

Starch is the most readily available and abundant pure carbohydrate. As a continuously renewable resource it has provided a source of energy for human beings and organisms from bacteria to mammalia. The first utilization of modified starch may even precede the discovery of fire. The same may be assumed for the enzymic transformation of starch into alcohol. 

For mankind, the discovery of fire and how to use it was probably the single most important event that ever happened. In the beginning man, like his animal companions on earth, was a victim of his environment. He had no protection from the cold weather or from the severe rain and snowstorms that geologists know must have occurred in periods before the beginning of history. Primitive men were hunters. They had to wander about in search of animals for food, so they couldn t settle down and live in one place. And of course they had to go out and hunt every day because they couldn t very well stock up on meat without an icebox. While the hunter was away from the cave he called home, he worried about wild animals attacking his family back at the cave. At night not everyone could sleep, because most predatory animals are night dwellers, and someone in the family had to stay awake to protect the others. 

Scientists think that early men may have discovered fire in one of two ways. They may have seen fire resulting from volcanic eruptions. Eruptions are natural explosions that take place inside mountains. They eject flames and huge quantities of hot gases and ashes. Or early men may have seen forest fires caused by lightning. However the discovery of fire came about, men soon learned to use it and became very dependent on it. 

In many cases, the spread of environmental contaminants is related to air pollution. The first incidence of air pollution is lost in unrecorded history, but it certainly goes back to the time of the discovery of fire. Air pollution refers to the presence in the outdoor atmosphere of one or more contaminants, occurring in quantities, of a duration, and with characteristics that are known to be injurious to human, animal, and plant life, or to property,... 

Ever since the discovery of fire, mankind was bound inevitably to divide substances into two classes those that burned and those that did not. The principal fuels in early times were wood and fat or oil. Wood was a product of the plant world, while fat and oil were products of both the animal and plant world. For the most part, materials of the mineral world, such as water, sand, and the various rocks, did not bum. They tended, rather, to put out fire. 

Carlisle, Rodney. Inventions and Discoveries All the Milestones in Ingenuity—from the Discovery of Fire to the Invention of the Microwave. Hoboken, N.J. John WHey Sons, 2004. 

Nriagu describes the discovery of the cupeiiation process as a critical scientific breakthrough that is comparable to the discovery of fire p 69. 

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