Early Neanderthals in eastern Britain deliberately made fire 400,000 years ago, a significant discovery at the Barnham site that pushes back the timeline for human mastery of fire.Archaeologists uncovered evidence including heat-damaged flint handaxes, scorched earth, and iron pyrite fragments, indicating intentional spark production and repeated use of campfires.This groundbreaking find, reported by
BBC and published in "
Nature", underscores fire's crucial role in human evolution, impacting cooking, brain development, language, and the strengthening of social bonds.