The Invisible Fire Starters: A usewear-based approach to identifying evidence of fire production by Neandertals

Tracing the origins of ‘modernity’ in the archaeological record has been an ongoing, and often heavily debated topic of discussion in the field of human origins for quite some time. Cognitive modernity – generally defined as the manifestation of complex language and abstract thought – is often inferred from various perceived innovations in material culture that are believed to indicate behavioral modernity (e.g. parietal art, personal adornment, bone tool technology, hafting technology, etc.). One of the more contentious facets of this debate is the subject of fire production during the time when controlled use of fire appeared to become a requisite component of the hominin technological repertoire: the Middle Palaeolithic. The mere presence of traces of fire on a site is not necessarily indicative that it was kindled by artificial means, however. To determine this, one must seek out the ‘tools of the trade’, which for this period were likely flint ‘strike-a-lights’ forcibly applied...Show moreTracing the origins of ‘modernity’ in the archaeological record has been an ongoing, and often heavily debated topic of discussion in the field of human origins for quite some time. Cognitive modernity – generally defined as the manifestation of complex language and abstract thought – is often inferred from various perceived innovations in material culture that are believed to indicate behavioral modernity (e.g. parietal art, personal adornment, bone tool technology, hafting technology, etc.). One of the more contentious facets of this debate is the subject of fire production during the time when controlled use of fire appeared to become a requisite component of the hominin technological repertoire: the Middle Palaeolithic. The mere presence of traces of fire on a site is not necessarily indicative that it was kindled by artificial means, however. To determine this, one must seek out the ‘tools of the trade’, which for this period were likely flint ‘strike-a-lights’ forcibly applied to fragments of sulphuric iron (more commonly known as marcasite or pyrite). Unfortunately, definitive examples of these tools are conspicuously absent in the archaeological record during the Middle Palaeolithic. Surprisingly, this trend appears to extend even into the early Upper Palaeolithic when modern human colonizers were pouring into Europe. In fact – contrary to the commonly held belief that modern humans were proficient fire-makers by this time – physical evidence of this technology does not appear with any regularity in the modern human tool kit until the mid- to late Upper Palaeolithic despite very regular use of fire by these peoples. One possible reason for this is simply hominids were obligate fire users (as opposed to producers) through the Middle Palaeolithic into the early Upper Palaeolithic. An alternate scenario advocated in this thesis is that both modern humans and Neandertals from the Middle Palaeolithic onward were likely able to make fire at will, but the tools they used to perform this task have not been recognized as such in the archaeological record. Drawing inspiration from the apparent ‘ad hoc’ nature of Middle Palaeolithic lithic technology, this thesis advocates what is called the ‘expedient strike-a-light’ hypothesis. It contends that early strike-a-lights were not formalized tools used to kindle numerous fires such as those recovered from later time periods. Instead, this study postulates strike-a-lights were either A) fashioned from simple, readymade flakes, utilized for only a short while – perhaps for just a single fire-making episode – and then discarded; or B) tools or small flake cores already on hand were expediently used as strike-a-lights. In this latter scenario, it is likely subsequent retouching of the tool would eliminate and evidence of it having been used to kindle a fire. An experimental usewear-based approach to testing the viability of this hypothesis was employed by analyzing the traces left behind on flint flake tools forcibly applied to a nodular piece of sulphuric iron for short periods of time using a variety of techniques with the express purpose of generating sparks. The findings were then compared with archaeological specimens exhibiting seemingly similar wear patterns identified during a comprehensive, low-magnification examination of the lithic collection recovered from the Last Interglacial (~120 ka) site of Neumark-Nord 2/2 (Germany). More detailed analysis using higher magnification found that none of the segregated specimens exhibited the requisite usewear to be considered possible strike-a-lights. Nevertheless, it is the author’s contention that this initial return of negative evidence in no way diminishes the value of this study. The rich and diverse body of data provided by this study, including detailed descriptions of usewear traces observed on both experimental flint strike-a-lights and the sulphuric iron contact material; supporting archaeological evidence culled together from extant literature; preliminary experimental statistical data concerning strike-a-light efficacy; and the novel methods outlined by the ‘expedient strike-a-light’ hypothesis, all combine to provide a solid foundation for future research seeking to shed light on the origins of man-made fire.Show less

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The Invisible Fire Starters: A usewear-based approach to identifying evidence of fire production by Neandertals