Wonderwerk Cave Evidence Pushes Hominin Fire Use Back to 1.79 Million Years
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 7
Wonderwerk Cave Evidence Pushes Hominin Fire Use Back to 1.79 Million Years
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 7
Summary
Burned animal bones found nearly 100 feet inside South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave suggest early human ancestors used fire there about 1.79 million years ago.
A new technique for detecting burning in fossilized bones underpinned the finding, and researchers said repeated traces deep inside the cave are beyond the reach of natural wildfires.
Those traces indicate hominins likely carried naturally occurring fire—probably from lightning strikes or savanna blazes—into the cave and kept it burning, rather than making fire on demand.
The result pushes back Wonderwerk's previous benchmark of about 1 million years and adds to a broader debate over when humans first controlled fire, distinct from deliberate fire-making dated to about 400,000 years ago in England.
Our ancestors harnessed fire nearly two million years ago, but did they use it for cooking?
A new technique pushed fire use back 800,000 years. What other human history could be wrong?
Wonderwerk Cave Pushes Earliest Evidence of Controlled Fire Use to 1.79 Million Years Ago: New Luminescence Technique Redefines Human Evolution Timeline
Overview
A groundbreaking study published in June 2026 has pushed back the earliest known use of fire by hominins at Wonderwerk Cave from one million to 1.79 million years ago. This major discovery was made possible by a new, non-destructive archaeological technique that uses the light-emitting properties of burned bone to identify ancient fire activity. The innovative luminescence method gives archaeologists a powerful tool to explore early human interaction with fire, offering fresh insights into how and when our ancestors began to harness this transformative technology.