Humans made fire 350,000 years earlier than previously thought, discovery in Suffolk suggests

Pyrite's extreme rarity in the local area – it was not present in a database of 33,000 samples from Barnham – strongly suggested it had been sourced from chalky coastal outcrops tens of kilometres away and brought to the area for use as a fire striker. "It's incredible that some of the oldest groups of Neanderthals had the knowledge of the properties of flint, pyrite and tinder at such an early date," said Ashton. 

Geochemical tests also showed that a patch of reddened clay had been heated to temperatures of over 700C (1,292F) with repeated fire-use in the same location of the site. Together, this strongly suggested that a campfire, or hearth, that had been used by people on several occasions, according to the paper published in Nature...

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/10/man-made-fire-350000-years-earlier-than-previously-known-after-discovery-in-suffolk

 

Forget ‘Man the Hunter’ – physiological and archaeological evidence rewrites assumptions about a gendered division of labor in prehistoric times

The myth that female reproductive capabilities somehow render them incapable of gathering any food products beyond those that cannot run away does more than just underestimate Paleolithic women. It feeds into narratives that the contemporary social roles of women and men are inherent and define our evolution. 

Our Paleolithic ancestors lived in a world where everyone in the band pulled their own weight, performing multiple tasks. It was not a utopia, but it was not a patriarchy... Suggesting that the female body is only designed to gather plants ignores female physiology and the archaeological record. To ignore the evidence perpetuates a myth that only serves to bolster existing power structures.

https://theconversation.com/forget-man-the-hunter-physiological-and-archaeological-evidence-rewrites-assumptions-about-a-gendered-division-of-labor-in-prehistoric-times-214347