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Last update - 21:02 26/10/2008
Hebrew University study shows humans made fire 790,000 years ago
By Reuters
Tags: Israel News, Hebrew U 

A new study conducted by Hebrew University shows that humans had the ability to make fire nearly 790,000 years ago, a skill that helped them migrate from Africa to Europe.

By analyzing flints at an archaeological site on the bank of the river Jordan researchers discovered that early civilizations had learned to light fires, a turning point that allowed them to venture into unknown lands.

A previous study of the site published in 2004 showed that man had been able to control fire - for example transferring it by means of burning branches - in that early time period. But researchers now say that ancient man could actually start fire, rather than relying on natural phenomena such as lightning.
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That independence helped promoted migration northward, they say.

The new study, published in a recent edition of Quaternary Science Reviews, mapped 12 archaeological layers at Gesher Benot Yaaqov in northern Israel.

"The new data shows there was a continued, controlled use of fire through many civilizations and that they were not dependent on natural fires," archaeologist Nira Alperson-Afil said on Sunday.

While they did not find remnants of ancient matches or lighters, Alperson-Afil said the patterns of burned flint found in the same place throughout 12 civilizations was evidence of fire-making ability, though the methods used were unclear.

And because the site is located in the Jordan valley - a key route between Africa and Europe - it provides evidence of the human migration, she said.

"Once they mastered fire to protect themselves from predators and provide warmth and light, they were secure enough to move into and populate unfamiliar territory," Alperson-Afil said.

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      1.   Still Doesn`t Explain Why... 22:10  |  Yosemite 26/10/08
      2.   And this is a Study?????? 22:41  |  De 26/10/08
      3.   Study Findings 22:46  |  Brendan 26/10/08
      4.   De: Just because your mind is to narrow... 23:24  |  Goy 26/10/08
      5.   Now, waaaait a second! 23:28  |  Goy 26/10/08
      6.   adam made fire 5769 years ago on a saturday night 01:02  |  joe barnathan 27/10/08
      7.   RIDICULOUS! CAIN AND ABEL MADE SACRIFICES SINCE WORLD`S BEGINNING 01:05  |  VOICE of MOSHIACH))) 27/10/08
      8.   Absent-minded professors can`t remember where their keys .. 02:19  |  PK 27/10/08
      9.   790,000 years ago Jews had to use stone axes for circumcision 06:24  |  Boris 27/10/08
      10.   Civilization? 17:02  |  M-K 27/10/08
      11.   Paleolithic 20:53  |  Jimmy 27/10/08
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