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In the prehistoric cave of Tautavel, discovery of the oldest traces of the domestication of fire

2021-09-26T12:52:47.293Z


The exhumation of micro-charcoal on the site of the Arago caune, north-west of Perpignan, could postpone by 160,000 years the date of the first use of fire by humans.


Were we ahead of our time, more than we thought? Since the discovery of traces of fire - by chance - researchers in the cave of Tautavel, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the question is debated. Officially, according to the CNRS,

"the first traces of the domestication of fire by humans in Europe date back to - 400,000 years"

. However, this recent discovery of coal fragments would push this date back to 560,000 years. The Tautavel cave was an ideal observation post for prehistoric hunters. At a height of 80 meters, they could thus monitor the movement of game in the plain.

If the discovery is exhilarating, the researchers nevertheless remain on their guard.

Asked by

Le Figaro

, Christian Perrenoud, geo-archaeologist and director of excavations at the Caune de l'Arago, provides more details:

"We do not know if it is a fire favored by man or simply of natural origin. .

In a cave composed of iron, it is necessary to make a very close sampling on all the stratigraphy to determine if these micro-coals were in correlation with human occupations

”.

Read alsoDiscover the remains of the oldest child in France in Tautavel

In other words, it is still far too early to determine the intentional involvement of Tautavel's man in a fire.

“The micro-charcoals may have been brought inside the cave following a natural fire. An individual may have brought back a burning branch and left it in the cave ”

.

Discovered in the central part of the cave,

"about twenty meters from the entrance"

, traces of coal will be the subject of more precise analyzes.

"It's a scoop if it is really linked to human occupation, if it is really demonstrated"

, underlines Christian Perrenoud. Because in Tautavel, the passage of man to prehistoric times is well proven.

"By taking the measurements, we see that there are three very important magnetic susceptibility peaks, one of which really corresponds to human occupation with the knowledge of fire, 260,000 years ago

."

For the moment, around ten people are mobilized to deepen the research.

They will relate to bones already unearthed.

“In some places they're a little brown.

If we go a little fast in the research, we will say that they are burnt.

But the brown coloration can also be induced by organic acids.

We have to determine whether the brown spots come from a fire effect or rather from a coloration induced by organic acids ”.

Analyzes will also be made in lakes:

"By determining the quantity of micro-charcoal, it is possible to determine the frequency of paleofires".

Damien Deldicque during sediment sampling in the high susceptibility level.

Christian Perrenoud

Before getting the end of the story,

"we would have to re-excavate these archaeological levels and add structures,"

continues the geologist.

We could then justify that there was a prolonged and intentional use of fire in the cave ”.

According to him, the research will be completed

“at best at the end of next year, the goal not being to search at full speed.

We will see what the analyzes say, to be certain about the use of fire ”.

Read alsoEighteen years after its discovery, a bone from the Tautavel cave dated almost 450,000 years ago

Whether or not the date of domestication is postponed in time, the method used by researchers can be described as innovative.

According to the CNRS, it will be applied again to other sites to reveal other secrets on the use of fire in the Paleolithic.

Since 1964 and the first excavation campaigns, 152 human remains and tools have been identified in the Tautavel cave.

They justify the location of permanent or temporary camps, and even of butchering workshops.

In 2015 and 2018, on this same site, two old teeth were unearthed - an adult incisor then a milk tooth - respectively 550,000 and 560,000 years old.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-09-26

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