A new study from a well-known Paleolithic site in eastern England has revealed that early humans mastered fire-making long before was previously thought. A group of researchers in Barnham, Suffolk, has found a set of key findings, including baked sediments, heat-fractured tools, and imported minerals, that point to deliberate ignition around 400,000 years ago. This has pushed back the date of such controlled fire-making by about 350,000 years.
The discovery centers on a buried land surface beneath ancient pond deposits. This protected area allowed researchers to locate a heated clay-and-flint hand axe, which cracked due to a temperature of over 700°C. The patterns of repeated burning do not resemble the aftermath of natural wildfires, which would scatter heat and leave irregular traces. Instead, it appears it was a constructed hearth that had been used several times.
Two small fragments of iron pyrite were found in conjunction with the burned sediment. The presence of pyrite, which is uncommon in the local geology, suggests that it was imported to this location. In later prehistoric periods, it appears that it was common to use pyrite in conjunction with flint in order to make sparks. The use of transported pyrite, combined with controlled high temperatures and heat-altered tools, creates one of the clearest archaeological examples of early fire-making.
The implications of this discovery extend far beyond this site. Fire was a key milestone in human evolution, including effects on food, social structures, and survival strategies. The availability of fire would have enabled early humans to cook their food as needed, especially meat. This would also make tough tissues easier to break down, reduce toxins, and provide access to energy far beyond eating raw food, which is presumed to have been key in enabling early humans to use their calories for larger, more metabolically demanding brains. Warmth and protection from predators would also enable early human populations to move into otherwise cold areas of Northern Europe, with illuminated hearth areas suggesting early settings for social interaction, cooperative planning, and early patterns of structured communication.
Barnham’s occupants were living in a time when brain size in human ancestors in Europe was very close to that of modern humans. Fossil records in Britain and the Iberian Peninsula reveal that early Neanderthals lived in this region, showing signs of growing technology and adaptability. The use of fire in Barnham is part of a larger archaeological pattern of developing human behavior in Europe between 500,000 and 400,000 years ago.
Because ancient fire remains are fragile—ash disperses, charcoal decays, and sediments wash away—evidence for early fire-making is remarkably rare. The extraordinary preservation of evidence at Barnham has allowed a remarkably detailed picture of a transformative moment in human technological evolution.