Combustion at the late Early Pleistocene site of Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Murcia, Spain)

Walker, Michael J.; Anesin, Daniela; Angelucci, Diego E.; Avilés-Fernández, A.; Berna, Francesco; Buitrago-López, A.T.; Fernández–Jalvo, Yolanda; Haber-Uriarte, María; López-Jiménez, A.; López-Martínez, M.; Lerma, Ignacio Martín; Ortega-Rodrigáñez, J.; Polo-Camacho, J.L.; Rhodes, Sara E.; Richter, Daniel; Rodríguez-Estrella, Tomás; Schwenninger, J.-L.; Skinner, Anne R.

doi:10.15184/aqy.2016.91

Cited by 64 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…That there is, from 400 ka onward, such a marked, geographically widely distributed pattern of regular fire use ( 24 ) does not imply that hominins might not have used fire before 400 ka. Indeed, it has been suggested that traces of anthropogenic fire might be around 0.8 Ma old in Spain ( 47 , 48 ) and Israel ( 49 , 50 ), 1 Ma old in South Africa ( 51 – 54 ), or even older in East Africa ( 19 , 55 – 57 ). Furthermore, based on paleoanthropological evidence for anatomic changes, Wrangham and Carmody ( 58 ) have argued that fire was first used by Homo erectus 1.8 Ma ago.…”

Section: The Spatiotemporal Pattern Of Fire Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Pleistocene fire use: The first signal of widespread cultural diffusion in human evolution

MacDonald

Scherjon

Veen

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Control of fire is one of the most important technological innovations within the evolution of humankind. The archaeological signal of fire use becomes very visible from around 400,000 y ago onward. Interestingly, this occurs at a geologically similar time over major parts of the Old World, in Africa, as well as in western Eurasia, and in different subpopulations of the wider hominin metapopulation. We interpret this spatiotemporal pattern as the result of cultural diffusion, and as representing the earliest clear-cut case of widespread cultural change resulting from diffusion in human evolution. This fire-use pattern is followed slightly later by a similar spatiotemporal distribution of Levallois technology, at the beginning of the African Middle Stone Age and the western Eurasian Middle Paleolithic. These archaeological data, as well as studies of ancient genomes, lead us to hypothesize that at the latest by 400,000 y ago, hominin subpopulations encountered one another often enough and were sufficiently tolerant toward one another to transmit ideas and techniques over large regions within relatively short time periods. Furthermore, it is likely that the large-scale social networks necessary to transmit complicated skills were also in place. Most importantly, this suggests a form of cultural behavior significantly more similar to that of extant Homo sapiens than to our great ape relatives.

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Section: The Spatiotemporal Pattern Of Fire Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Pleistocene fire use: The first signal of widespread cultural diffusion in human evolution

MacDonald

Scherjon

Veen

et al. 2021

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…This includes dispersed charcoal fragments in caves, including those found in level TE19 G at the Sima del Elefante site (Atapuerca, Spain) 21 , or in open-air sites, such as Boxgrove (UK) 22 . Thermally altered materials, such as bone and chert, have also been found in Cueva Negra del Rio Quípar in Spain 23,24 , among other sites 9 . However, the anthropogenic nature of these remains is controversial because it cannot be excluded that they are in secondary position and originate in wildfires outside the cave 25 .…”

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confidence: 95%

Early evidence of fire in south-western Europe: the Acheulean site of Gruta da Aroeira (Torres Novas, Portugal)

Sanz

Daura

Cabanes

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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the site of Gruta da Aroeira (torres novas, portugal), with evidence of human occupancy dating to ca. 400 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 11), is one of the very few Middle Pleistocene localities to have provided a fossil hominin cranium associated with Acheulean bifaces in a cave context. the multianalytic study reported here of the by-products of burning recorded in layer X suggests the presence of anthropogenic fires at the site, among the oldest such evidence in southwestern Europe. The burnt material consists of bone, charcoal and, possibly, quartzite cobbles. These finds were made in a small area of the cave and in two separate occupation horizons. our results add to our still-limited knowledge about the controlled use of fire in the Lower Palaeolithic and contribute to ongoing debates on the behavioural complexity of the Acheulean of europe. Controlling the use of fire was a technological milestone in human evolution that broadened diet, expanded the ecological range, and provided a powerful defensive and offensive tool 1-4. It required a complex mind, capable of predicting fire behaviour and fuel needs, and imposed high energetic costs 5. Identifying the point in human

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“…Eating together is one of the most commonly shared practices among human beings, both across space and time. The remains of food around traces of fireplaces, the oldest fireplaces discovered as far back as about 800,000 years ago [ 1 ], reveal for how long we can confidently say that human beings have been sharing food. In fact, food sharing is described in evolutionary anthropology as a fundamental part of human evolution, as a means of reciprocal cooperation, which we share with other primates [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Commensality? A Critical Discussion of an Expanding Research Field

Jönsson

Michaud

Neuman

2021

IJERPH

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Commensality (the act of eating together) is studied in a range of disciplines and often considered important for social communion, order, health and well-being, while simultaneously being understood as in decline (especially the family meal). However, such claims are also contested in various ways. In this paper, we discuss the expanding field of commensality research and critically reflect on the debates surrounding its social functions, including its role in public health. We illuminate the deep social and cultural significance of commensality, through time and space, and conclude that whether or not commensality is the preferred social form of eating for any given individual, it is difficult to escape its sociocultural desirability and idealization. As a cross-cultural phenomenon in both past, present, and future, we suggest that commensality deserves further research. This includes commensality as a research topic in itself and as an entry point to unveil different dimensions of social relations between people, as well as interactions between humans and material objects.

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Combustion at the late Early Pleistocene site of Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Murcia, Spain)

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 64 publications

References 31 publications

Middle Pleistocene fire use: The first signal of widespread cultural diffusion in human evolution

Middle Pleistocene fire use: The first signal of widespread cultural diffusion in human evolution

Early evidence of fire in south-western Europe: the Acheulean site of Gruta da Aroeira (Torres Novas, Portugal)

What Is Commensality? A Critical Discussion of an Expanding Research Field

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