Differences between the fireplaces suggest a clever and intentional use.
Whether it was used for cooking, heating, lighting, or making tools, fire is widely believed to have been essential for human survival during the Ice Age. Yet, it remains a mystery why so little well-preserved evidence of fireplaces has been found from the coldest phase of that era in Europe. A team of researchers from the University of Algarve and the University of Vienna has helped clarify this puzzle.
By analyzing three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine, they found that people living during the last Ice Age built different types of hearths and primarily used wood, though bones and fat may also have been used as fuel. Their findings were published in the journal Geoarchaeology.
Archaeological evidence shows that Homo sapiens in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic, between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago, used fire in many different ways.
“Fire was not just about keeping warm; it was also essential for cooking, making tools and for social gatherings,” explains Philip R. Nigst, a lead author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna. While fire is often considered vital to the survival of Ice Age hunter-gatherers, very little preserved evidence has been found from the coldest stretch of the Ice Age, between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago.
“We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age,” says William Murphree, the study’s lead author and a geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve.
Analyzing ancient hearths with modern tools
The current study is all the more significant because the scientists discovered and analyzed three hearths at a prehistoric site in Ukraine. This was possible thanks to a series of innovative geoarchaeological techniques. Through microstratigraphic analysis, micromorphology, and colorimetric analysis, the team identified three simple, flat, wood-fired hearths.
One interesting finding from this was that these fires reached temperatures of more than 600°C, which proves sophisticated mastery of pyrotechnics even in the face of extreme environmental stresses.
The analysis also shows that humans used wood as their main fuel during the peak of the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses indicating spruce wood. However, other fuels such as bone or fat could have been used.
“Some of the animal bones found at the site were burnt in a fire with a temperature of over 650 degrees Celsius. We are currently investigating whether they were used as fuel or just accidentally burned,” explains Marjolein D. Bosch, one of the authors and an zooarchaeologist at the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum Vienna.
Seasonal fire use and migration patterns
All three fireplaces are open and flat. However, the new results suggest that the use of fire was sophisticated, as the fireplaces were likely to have been built and used differently in different seasons. One of the three fireplaces is larger and thicker, suggesting that higher temperatures were achieved here.
“People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire. But our results also show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations,” explains Nigst.
Despite these new findings, the small number of fireplaces from the Last Glacial Maximum remains puzzling. “Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?” asks Murphree. “Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?” adds Nigst. By further uncovering the role of fire in human evolution, the researchers hope to shed light on what is arguably one of the most fundamental technologies that has shaped our species’ success in populating every corner of this planet.
Reference: “Fire Use During the Last Glacial Maximum: Evidence From the Epigravettian at Korman’ 9, Middle Dniester Valley, Ukraine” by William Chase Murphree, Cruz Ferro-Vázquez, Larissa Kulakovska, Vitalii I. Usyk, Olesia Kononenko, Marjolein D. Bosch, Paul Haesaerts, Freddy Damblon, Stéphane Pirson, Philip R. Nigst and Vera Aldeias, 1 April 2025, Geoarchaeology.
DOI: 10.1002/gea.70006
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3 Comments
““Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?””
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What other technology existed other than fire back then? Huddling together and shaking a lot?
Warmer materials in clothing, or better fitting and weather-resistant and of course there’s always the aliens theory. The aliens stopped by, talked a lot about the universe…and left some biodegradable space heaters.
Here’s why the title could be considered misleading:
* Misleading Promise: The title explicitly states “New Research Reveals How Humans Made Fire.” However, the article discusses the evidence of fire use, the types of hearths, the fuel used, and the management of fire during the Ice Age. It does not actually describe the methods used for the initial ignition or creation of fire (e.g., friction methods, striking stones).
* Overpromising: The title promises to answer a fundamental question (“How humans made fire”) that the research described in the article does not fully address. It focuses on the use and evidence of fire rather than its creation.