Archaeologist Kyle Brown (top) shapes heat-treated stone into replicas of ancient weapons (bottom) in undated pictures.In South Africa, Brown and colleagues recently discovered arrowheads and other fire-treated artifacts that suggest humans were using fire in toolmaking some 50,000 years earlier than previously thought, an August 2009 study says. Photographs courtesy Science/AAAS Ancient Weapons Point to First Use of Fire for Tools? -- National Geographic
With the tell-tale sheen of heat-treated rock, a 72,000-year-old cache of stone weapons found in Africa suggests humans began using fire to create tools nearly 50,000 years earlier than previously thought, a new study says.
Scientists had thought people began manipulating fire to create tools in Europe about 25,000 years ago.
But the new finds suggest that people in what is now South Africa discovered that heating a stone called silcrete would make it easier to flake, allowing them to shape more advanced blades, knives, and other tools.
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My Comment: From simple knives, clubs, and pointed spears to fusion bombs on top of ICBMs .... all in 75,000 years.