Fire is one of the building blocks of human life. Whether for providing warmth, cooking food, casting light, or assisting in the creation of the first tools, fire has been responsible for much of the progress our ancestors made that helped modern humanity get to where we are today.

If we want to make a fire, it’s simple. Grab some wood from the corner store, set it up in your backyard fire pit, and strike a match. But how did our Ice Age ancestors do it? There actually isn’t much in the archaeological record to help answer that question.

“We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age,” said William Murphree, a geoarchaeologist from the University of Algarve, in a press release. 

Strangely, barely any well-preserved fireplaces from the coldest period of the Ice Age in Europe have been found. However, thanks to a group of scientists led by the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna, the conversation around Ice Age fire is heating up. 

Humans of the Ice Age and Fire

According to a study published in Geoarchaeology, at a prehistoric site located in Ukraine, researchers uncovered three hearths that were built by Ice Age humans. These hearths date back to the coldest period of the Ice Age, between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago.  

Although the hearths look quite simple, with an open and flat construction, the implications of the find are significant.  

One of the most interesting discoveries about the hearths is the temperature they reached. Evidence suggests that at least one of the hearths would’ve reached temperatures over 1100 degrees Fahrenheit. During a time when the average temperature was around 46 degrees Fahrenheit, this proves that European Ice Age populations were ingenious fire makers who mastered the art of pyrotechnics in a time of great environmental stress. 

Read More: The Dawn of Fire: When Did Early Humans First Discover Fire?

Another notable find was the size of the hearths. Out of the three fireplaces found, one was larger and thicker than the others. According to the study, the differences in size also point to advanced skills in fire making.

It’s likely that the builders of these hearths cycled through them seasonally, using each for a different purpose depending on the time of year. 

“People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire. But our results show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations,” said Phillip R. Nigst, one of the lead authors and an archaeologist at the University of Vienna, in a press release. 

Cutting-Edge Techniques

The study also reveals that the groups who built and used these hearths used wood, primarily spruce wood, as their primary fuel source. Bones and fat remnants were also found in the hearths. This suggests that bones and fat may also have been used for fuel, but more analysis needs to be done to rule out accidental burning.

The detailed analysis required for this important discovery was made possible thanks to recent innovations in geoarchaeology. The team primarily used three techniques when studying the hearths: microstratigraphic analysis, micromorphology, and colorimetric analysis.

All three of these cutting-edge techniques involve the study of sedimentary deposits. Through studying sediment, scientists can gain insight into the formation, history, and relationships of geological remains.

The research team hopes to keep using innovative archaeological advancements to continue writing the story of fire’s role in human evolution.

Read More: How Humans Survived the Ice Age

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As the marketing coordinator at Discover Magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers across Discover’s social media channels and writes digital content. Offline, she is a contract lecturer in English & Cultural Studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses on everything from professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her graduate degrees in the same department from McMaster University. You can find more of her science writing in Lab Manager and her short fiction in anthologies and literary magazine across the horror genre.