Fire-making by percussion
Encendido del fuego por percusión (sílex y pirita/manganeso)
- Date
- c. 50 ka · confidence low
- Place
- Pech-de-l'Azé I and IV, Dordogne, France
- Credited to
- Neanderthals
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Handaxes with mineral-percussion marks and blocks of manganese dioxide, interpreted as fire-starting kits. Producing fire at will, not merely keeping it alive, frees the group from dependence on embers.
Sorensen et al.'s (2018) interpretation is disputed; some argue Neanderthals only gathered natural fire.
What it led to
- Portable fire: short-lived camps and exploration of new territories
- Reduced social cost of keeping the hearth burning
- Use of mineral compounds as accelerants: practical chemistry
Built on
- Control of firec. 1 Ma
- Control of fire
Made possible
- Earth oven and clay-lined hearthsc. 32 ka
- Pottery vessels (Xianrendong)c. 20 ka
- Stone fat lampc. 19 ka
- Stone fat lamp
- Earth oven and clay-lined hearths
- Pottery vessels (Xianrendong)