The history of mankind is full of various mysteries, and the older the date, the more mysterious the event and its circumstances, which concerns both the acquisition of articulate speech and the transition to upright walking, and the question of when people learned to make fire. That this skill dramatically changed the lives of distant ancestors modern people, there is no need to argue. The quality of food has improved, which could not but affect life expectancy. In conditions of glaciation, which occurs precisely at initial stages existence of man, fire helped to warm up. He was also indispensable when hunting.

Primitive man and fire

Many natural phenomena are, one way or another, associated with fire. More than a million years ago, volcanic eruptions occurred more often than now, and posed a serious danger to all animals, including humans. Another option for encountering fire is no less frequent forest and

However, if you take a closer look at mythology, it turns out that the first fire received by man was of heavenly origin. Best known greek myth, according to which Prometheus stole a spark from the forge of Hephaestus and brought it to people, hiding it in an empty reed. Other peoples had similar legends, including various Indian tribes who could not contact the Greeks. In view of this, the assumption is that primitive people for the first time they used fire from the ignition of something after a lightning strike, is considered by scientists as the most probable.

Artificial fire

The most important and difficult thing for primitive man was to overcome the natural fear of fire. When this happened, he could not help but discover that it was not at all necessary to wait for a strong thunderstorm or a volcanic eruption: when creating stone tools, sparks flared up as a result of one stone hitting another. However, this method was very labor intensive and took at least an hour. In areas of human settlement where there was high humidity, it was completely impossible.

Another physical process that gives an idea of ​​how ancient people learned to make fire is friction. Over time, man became convinced that it was not just friction, but drilling that simplified the procedure even more. Dry wood was used for this. Pressing a dry stick against it, the man quickly rotated it between his palms. A depression formed in the tree, in which wood powder accumulated. With a high intensity of movement, it flared up, and it was already possible to build a fire.

Keeping the fire going

If we turn again to mythology, it becomes clear that when people learned to make fire, they were very concerned about maintaining it. For example, even Roman customs required that in the temple of the goddess Vesta there were priestesses engaged in preserving the unquenchable fire on her altar. Even lighting candles in Christian churches considered by many scientists to be a relic of the primitive need to store fire.

Ethnographic data show: although people learned to make fire and simplified this process as much as possible, preserving what they already had was a priority. This is understandable: it was not always possible to find suitable stones or dry wood. Meanwhile, without fire, the tribe faced death. The Indians not only maintained unquenchable fires at their huts, but also carried smoldering tinder with them. Most likely, he behaved this way primitive man.

Dating problem

It is impossible to finally put an end to the dispute about what period people learned to make fire. The researcher can only rely on archaeological data, and extremely little remains of human sites dating back a million years. This is why scientists prefer to use broad dating. Agreeing that people learned to make fire in the Paleolithic era, experts in the history of primitive society indicate that this could have happened between 1.4 million and 780 thousand years ago.

Findings in the Vonderwerk Cave on the territory of the Republic of South Africa helped to make this event more ancient by 300 thousand years. A team of archaeologists led by Peter Beaumont managed to discover the remains of wood ash and charred animal bones. Further research showed that their burning took place directly in the cave, that is, the possibility of them accidentally getting there is excluded. Traces of soot were found on the walls of the cave.

Discoverer Man

Thanks to these discoveries, the question of what kind of person learned to make fire was again raised. A million years ago the genus Homo was introduced various types, of which only one survived - Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens). The reconstruction of anthropogenesis is complicated by the small amount of material evidence of the existence of a particular species, that is, skeletal remains. Because of this, the existence of species such as Homo rudolfensis is a controversial issue.

If we place on the same scale the stages of anthropogenesis and evidence of when people learned to make fire, then the earliest point falls on the existence of the species Homo erectus(Homo erectus). But whether the ability to make fire was already habitual, or whether it happened from time to time, is still impossible to find out.

The meaning of mastering fire

When people learned to make fire artificially, their evolution accelerated significantly. The changes affected even them appearance. The use of fire in cooking has significantly increased energy consumption. If an ordinary animal spends about 125 kcal per kilogram of weight throughout its life, then a person spends six times more.

Mastery of fire sharply distinguished man from other animals. Thanks to fire, it became possible to more effectively pursue large predators and drive them into traps, and to protect their sites from invasion. Fire was also used to process wooden tools, which made them more durable and hard.

This event also affected the mental sphere. When people learned to make fire, it immediately became an object of worship. Various religious cults, in which the god of fire occupied a central position. Therefore, it is unlikely to be a stretch to assume that it was the mastery of fire that allowed man to reach today's heights.

It is known for certain that already a million years before our era, ancient people knew how to use fire. The earliest evidence of this dates back to approximately 1.2 million years BC. These are various clay fragments and parts of weapons or tools. However, the nature of the discovered remains suggests that most likely it was a carefully preserved fire, obtained by chance. For example, moved to the parking lot from places open burning peat, volcanic eruption, lightning strike or received during a forest fire. Naturally, man initially did not intend to use fire for his own purposes, since nothing good could come from meeting the elemental manifestations of fire due to its destructive action. Probably, the idea of ​​using fire for cooking or processing tools arose among ancient people when they discovered that the meat of animals that died and were partially fried during a fire is chewed and digested much better, and wood burned in a fire becomes harder. At the same time, the fire also performed a security and defensive function, as it scared away wild animals. During this period, the loss of the acquired fire meant that for some time the tribe would do without it until the opportunity presented itself to obtain it again by chance. Anthropologists note that many primitive societies still retain cruel punishments for the loss of tribal fire and various ways its preservation.

So, how did ancient people make fire? Ancient people were able to learn how to make fire on their own much later, about 700 thousand years ago. The nature of the methods for making fire suggests that they were discovered experimentally during economic activity primitive man.

Methods of making fire by ancient people

The most popular method of making fire in ancient times, which is still used by a number of tribes, is drilling(Fig. 1). Initially, people simply used their palms to quickly rotate a rounded stick (drill) from solid wood in a recess in a flat part of a softer type of wood. As a result of rotation, hot wood dust is quite quickly formed, which, when poured onto previously prepared tinder, ignites it. In later eras this method was modernized. At first they came up with the idea of ​​wrapping a belt around a vertical stick, which made it possible to untwist the drill by alternately pulling at different ends; a little later they began to attach a stop to the top of the stick. Even later, they began to use a bow drill - they began to tie a belt to the ends of a curved tree or bone.

Rice. 1 - Ancient people made fire by drilling

Second way - fire scraping(Fig. 2). A person who wanted to get fire had to prepare a longitudinal notch on a relatively flat surface in advance. After which he began to quickly move a wooden stick along this notch. Quite quickly, smoldering wood dust formed at the bottom of the excavation, which was used to ignite tinder (tree bark, dry grass).

Rice. 2 - Making fire by scraping

The third method of making fire by ancient people most likely arose during attempts to process wooden instruments - cutting fire(Fig. 3). By analogy with the previous method - scraping, fire was produced by rubbing wood against wood, but, unlike it, the friction was carried out not along the fibers, but across it.

Rice. 3 - Extraction of fire by ancient people by sawing

It is believed that the fourth method is striking fire(Fig. 4) appeared much later. There is a hypothesis that ancient people could have become familiar with this method by processing flint tools by striking flint. In this case, a spark is struck, which, under certain conditions, could lead to the production of fire by ancient people in this way. However, archaeological evidence shows that even if such a method existed, it was not widespread. The most widely used method of striking fire is striking silicon on pyrite (sulfur pyrite, iron ore). In this case, a hot spark is obtained, which could well be used to create fire. Subsequently, it was this method that became widespread and ubiquitous.

Rice. 4 - Carving fire by ancient people

Thus, from the lecture we learned, how ancient people made fire, in the following ways:

• by drilling;
• scraping fire;
• cutting fire;
• striking fire.

Guest article.

According to legend, Prometheus gave fire to people, for which he suffered severe punishment. Scientists tend to think differently. Anthropologists have established that man produced and learned to use fire himself.

Food hypothesis of human evolution

The first evidence of the taming of the elements - fireplaces, charred remains of animal bones, ashes, etc. - were discovered by archaeologists in Kenya. These traces were left by ancient people who lived about 1.5 million years ago. The controlled use of fire is considered one of the key factors in human evolution.

Thus, Harvard University professor Richard Wrangham hypothesized that the brain of primitive people developed due to the thermal processing of food. Digestion of food cooked over fire required less energy. Its surplus, the professor believes, was used to develop intelligence.

Initially, primitive people produced fire after forest fires. They tried to preserve it as long as possible. Ancient people learned to light fires on their own much later.

Taming the Elements

The results of recent research indicate that primitive people began regularly building fireplaces about 350 thousand years ago. This fully corresponds to general paleoclimatic and cultural criteria. Anthropologists came to this conclusion based on studying a series of ancient artifacts. The objects were discovered in the Tabun cave, which is located on Israeli territory near Haifa. Their age is approximately 500 thousand years.

According to Dr. Ron Shimelmitz, Ph.D., from the University of Haifa, under whose direction the study was conducted, the uniqueness of Tabun Cave is that an entire era of human history is described here. The discovered objects make it possible to track the process of taming the elements step by step.

Making your own fire

The artifacts found are mainly represented by flint tools for skinning animals and flaked flakes. To establish when humans learned to make fire, scientists studied about 100 layers of sedimentary deposits. Layers older than 350 thousand years had no burnt traces. But in younger sediments there was clear evidence of burnt silica in the form of red and black colors.

According to scientists, the occurrence of a fire among stone walls unlikely. Obviously, by this time they had already learned how to use the hearth. But the question remains not entirely clear: did man make fire himself or did he simply preserve it?

The information obtained is quite consistent with the results of surveys carried out in neighboring territories. These data suggest that primitive people mastered the cultivation of hearths throughout the Mediterranean approximately 350 thousand years ago. Long-term study of the process of taming the elements indicates that man has been learning the art of lighting fires for a very long time.

Scientific controversy

As Schimelmitz, whose research was reflected in an article in the Journal of Human Evolution, notes, scientists know of earlier examples of the use of fire. But they have a fragmentary, random character. It follows that before the period established by the doctor’s group, people did not constantly use fires. In other words, the elements were beyond his control.

But some of the scientists who did not participate in the study of the Tabun cave expressed disagreement about fresh ideas. Many of them believe that people, who did not yet have speech or writing, mastered the complex process of preparing food about two million years ago. These anthropologists believe that during this same period, evolution led to changes in the intestines of people, their teeth became smaller and their brains became larger.

But no matter what debates take place among scientists, the development of fire is considered one of the most significant achievements of mankind.

Neither more nor less, but about one and a half million years ago, man tamed fire. Is it a joke? Yes, it was not immediately the fire that we get when we light a burner (if anyone else has gas stoves). But this is truly a great path, from the moment when our ancient ancestor witnessed a tree burning, which was quickly struck by lightning, to now, to our fire.

Undoubtedly, the ability to mine and the ability to use fire is one of the greatest skills that a person has been able to acquire. This importance is evidenced by many archaeological finds, myths, and legends. For example, thanks to archaeologists, we know that the initial production of fire resulted from the friction of one piece of dry wood against another, and, moreover, friction by rotation or drilling.

By the way, making fire by rubbing two pieces of dry wood still exists among many less cultured peoples. This method has three variations: 1) drilling, 2) sawing and 3) making a furrow. Drilling, in turn, is carried out:

• Directly with your hands; you need to take a narrow plank of dry wood, place it on the ground, kneel on it and rest a dry round wooden stick against it; first, a small (shallow) hole is made in the board, corresponding to the diameter of the stick, and from this hole a small groove is drawn to the side edge of the board, along which the resulting drilling could be squeezed out sawdust; having inserted a stick into the said hole, the person rotates it between his palms, trying at the same time to press it; At the same time, his palms gradually descend down the stick and he has to quickly throw them up several times to the upper end, but so that the air does not have time to get under the lower end of the stick. After spinning continuously for some time, the wood dust heats up and finally ignites, having coal and tinder ready to catch the fire, which is then fanned.

• Another method of drilling requires the use of a board, a stick, a weight that would press on the stick from above, and a rope with which the stick would rotate. This method requires the participation of two people: one holds the board placed on the ground with his foot, and with both hands moves the rope wrapped around the stick from side to side, which causes the stick to rotate; the other helps to hold the board motionless, and with his hand presses the stick on top.
• The third method is characterized by attaching a weight to the stick (for example, by means of a circle placed on it) and causing it to rotate by means of a double rope wound around its upper end and then attached to the ends of the transverse stick; placing his hands on this transverse stick, the person presses it downwards, as a result of which the vertical stick begins to rotate; The bottom board must be held by another person at this time.

Initially, fire was used to heat and illuminate the home, but later, people switched to agriculture, using fire to burn out areas of the forest for arable land.

Then pottery appeared. Step by step, fire found different uses, such as blacksmithing and metallurgy for heating and melting metals.

Also, the icing on the cake is that the fire is considered to be in the candle. His playful dance, crackling, shadow on the wall - a magical, beautiful creation of man. Since man made the first candle, he has discovered new look into a strong fire, discovering something indescribably mysterious in it.

And be that as it may, with the advent of more and more new innovations, such as electric stoves, fire will never become obsolete, and will be in demand to create a special atmosphere on a special day for you :)

To survive, people needed not only food and water, they needed warmth, and in addition to the Sun, fire provided it. Ancient man from the genus Homo learned to use fire at least 700 thousand years ago. It didn't happen right away. At first, people used the fire that remained after forest fires and lightning strikes. They carefully protected the burning logs and branches and tried not to let them go out. The fires of the camps were carefully maintained, and the smoldering coals were carried with them to each new place.

Starting a fire

About 4 thousand years BC. was invented bow drill for making fire. The bow string is used to continuously rotate the wooden drill. Its tip rests on wooden base. The friction of the drill against a piece of wood causes heat, which should ignite the moss, small wood chips or straw stored at the base of the drill. Such drills are still used today.

Why was fire needed?

The fire helped to warm up. They used lit branches to fight off predators and drive away large animals. The tips of wooden tools were hardened over fire. Soft clay was burned in the flames of the fires, and it became strong and hard. Many plants are poisonous in their raw form, but are harmless and nutritious when cooked. They began to cook food on the fire. In the end, people noticed that in order for a spark of fire to arise, they had to either knock hard stones against each other, or produce it by rubbing dry wooden sticks. Fire was also used for lighting. To do this, a “wick” made of moss or pieces of fur was lowered into a flat stone bowl filled with animal fat. Splinters dipped in beeswax or resin.

Fire was used not only for heating, but also for cooking. Many poisonous plants turned out to be harmless after heat treatment.

Stone hearth

The hearth is the place where food was prepared, central to the home of Stone Age man. Stone seats, beds, and tables were placed around the hearth. A hole was made in the roof above the fireplace to allow smoke to escape. To prevent a draft from extinguishing the fire, the fireplace was lined with large stones.