New Study Finds Oldest Regular Use Of Fire May Have Begun 350,000 Years Ago – In Israel

The world’s oldest regular domestication of fire may have taken place 350,000 years ago in a cave in what is now modern day northern Israel, a new study has found. But it could also have taken place in a central Israel cave slightly further south 50,000 years earlier.

 

New Study Finds Oldest Regular Use Of Fire May Have Begun 350,000 Years Ago – In What Is Now Modern Day Israel
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

The world’s oldest regular domestication of fire may have taken place 350,000 years ago in a cave in what is now modern day northern Israel, a new study has found. But it could also have taken place in a central Israel cave slightly further south 50,000 years earlier.

Researchers from the University of Haifa have found ancient 350,000-year-old flints in the Tabun Cave in the Carmel Mountains that show humans likely learned how to make and keep fire then, i24 News reported.

The study, “Fire at will: The emergence of habitual fire use 350,000 years ago,” was published this month in the Journal of Human Evolution. Archaeologist Ron Shimelmitz is the lead author.

But earlier this year at a different cave in Israel, a team of researchers led by Weizmann Institute professor Ruth Shahack-Gross reportedly found a large amount of wood ash mixed with bits of bone and earth. The mixture had been repeatedly heated to high temperatures.

That is “conclusive proof that the area had been the site of a large hearth,” Shahack-Gross reportedly said.

That Weizmann Institute study dates the Qesem find at 400,000 years ago.

Comments

[Yehi Hamelech]

As every Hasid knows the Rebbe Shlita sends shluchim not only to the every place in the Universe but also back and forward on the time. What the scientist found was actually Lag B'Omer bonfire organized by one of these Shluchim.

[ira]

The longer the peyos, the holier the jew.

[Schwadevivre]

Sorry, it is a site with the earliest recorded regular use of fire to prepare flints for knapping. There is considerable evidence of regular and controlled use of fire as far back as 1,000,000 years ago Quest for Fire Began Earlier Than Thought

And thanks for a very useful blog

[Garnel Ironheart]

Way too early to blame on rioting Chareidim

[(The other) Eli]

So that's why haredim always light garbage cans on fire. They're continuing an ancient tradition

[dovid kahan]

After the first Shabbat, Adam and Chava experienced darkness and cold for the first time in their lives and they needed something to light up the darkness and they needed something to warm them and save them from freezing to death. Adam rubbed 2 sticks together and saw sparks and continued warming the 2 sticks together and a fire ignited. From this we get the minhag to light a havdala candle with at least 2 wicks and we praise G-d for having created the light of the fire. Why do we praise G-d for creating the light of the fire when it was the first man, Adam, who made the first fire? Because G-d inspired Adam to rub 2 sticks together to invent fire to save Adam and Eve from freezing to death during the extremely long night that followed the first Shabbat. In those days the nights probably were the equivalent of thousands of years long and were very cold.

[dovid kahan]

Now we know where the garden of eden was or maybe the garden of eden was further east and they were following the sunset after the first Shabbat for several hundred miles and were getting very tired and found a cave that was still warm from the hot Shabbat sun that had shone for 36 hours straight 49 times as bright as the sun usually shines. They went to sleep in this cave and after sleeping they were freezing cold and Adam rubbed 2 sticks against each other and invented fire and from the light and heat of the fire Adam and Chava were able to survive the long night that was probably the equivalent of thousands of years long.

[dovid kahan]

2 days earlier the dinosaurs became extinct during the millions of years long night after the 5th day of creation because they could not survive the freezing cold night. The only dinosaurs that survived were those that became birds and flew over the oceans to the other side of the world where the sun was shining and those that learned how to swim and swam to the other side of the world where the sun was shining.

[dovid kahan]

2 days earlier the dinosaurs became extinct because they could not survive the extremely long and cold night after the 5th day of creation that was probably the equivalent of millions of years long.

[jake]

I thought the garden of Eden was in Malibu California.

[Wirbelwind]

The dentition and masseter muscle of homo sapiens and even of homo neanderthalis is not nearly up to eating freshly killed raw mammoth/zebra/wildebeest/ostrich/moa meat.

Have you ever tried eating a raw totally uncooked steak?!

One has to say that man was sparking up fires all over the savannah right from the beginning, purportedly 500,000-1,000,000 years ago.

Alternatively "Adam reclined in the Garden of Eden and the angels brought him roasted meat" (Avos d'R.Noson 1)!

[dovid kahan]

I thought that Adam and Chava were only allowed to eat a vegan diet and only after the flood were Noah and his family and descendants allowed by G-d to eat meat.
Please let me know more about what Avot d'R Natan says.

[dovid kahan]

The Neanderthals went against the will of G-d and ate meat even though G-d created them to be vegan. Because the Neanderthals ate meat they developed big jaws and a different shaped skull than the descendants of Noah who scientists call homosapiens. G-d caused a massive flood and massive tsunami to exterminate the Neanderthals and only Noah and his family survived by being on the ark.

[Wirbelwind]

"Adam reclined in the Garden of Eden, whilst the ministering angels roasted flesh and strained wine for him" (Sanhedrin 59b)

[Mark]

We need to be sceptical of dating methods which "inform" us that an event occurred x hundreds of thousands of years ago. They are based on assumptions about the rate of decay of various isotopes over the years. But the dates given cannot be proven and if anything, the vast majority of them must be wrong (n this case, where is the 350,000 years of history which must have occurred to account for this date??).