AI finds hidden evidence of ancient human fires 1 million years ago

The person is Colin Barras.

There is evidence of ancient fire at an archaeological site in Israel. One of the most significant innovations of all time is the control of fire, and applying the technology at other sites could change our understanding of when and where it began.

Archaeologists are able to identify if ancient humans used fire. You can look for signs that prehistoric bones are discolored, or that stone tools are warped, in a way that is consistent with exposure to temperatures greater than 450C. This type of evidence is very rare at older sites.

A group of researchers in Israel developed an artificial intelligence tool that can identify subtler signs of fire caused by exposure to temperatures of between 200 and 300C.

The team, working with Michael Chazan at the University of Toronto in Canada, was able to find flints from a 1-million-year-old ancient human site.

Read more: Ash traces hint at cave cuisine 1 million years ago

The same type of flint was used in the previous study that led to the decision to use the same type of quarry. There wasn't any reason to believe there would be evidence of burning there.

The tool suggested that many of the tools at the site had been heated to 400C.

The team used existing techniques to confirm that the bone had been heated. No one would have bothered testing the bones for heat exposure if it weren't for the flint results from the Artificial Intelligence.

The hot stones and bones suggest that ancient humans had control over the fire at the quarry.

There is some evidence that humans used fire 1.5 million years ago. A popular hypothesis is that fire and cooking were common between about 1.8 and 2 million years ago. In the past, I have said no, I don't think that's right He isn't sure now.

The journal's title is PNAS and it can be found at 10.1073/pnas.

The revolution in archaeology and human evolution is covered in Our Human Story.