Archaeologists claim objects are earliest 'matches'
Researchers from Israel say that mysterious clay and stone artefacts from Neolithic times could be the earliest known 'fire drills'. Although the cylindrical objects have been known about for some time, they had previously been interpreted as "cultic" phallic symbols. The researchers' new interpretation means these could be the earliest evidence of how fires were ignited. Read more
Wonderwerk Cave shows fire used 300,000 years earlier than believed
An international team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University has identified the earliest known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors. Microscopic traces of wood ash, alongside animal bones and stone tools, were found in a layer dated to one million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. Read more