A team of Spanish archaeologists has located in the Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa, the oldest evidence of controlled use of fire by Homo erectus, dated to 1.8 million years ago. The finding not only rewrites the chronology of fire mastery but has been documented with cutting-edge digital techniques to preserve every detail of the site before its natural deterioration.
Photogrammetry and modeling of the prehistoric hearth 🔥
To record the exact arrangement of ashes and charred remains, the researchers applied high-resolution photogrammetry, generating a three-dimensional point cloud of the archaeological stratum. With this model, it was possible to virtually reconstruct the morphology of the campfires and simulate the smoke flow inside the cave. The digital analysis confirmed that the hominins did not ignite the fire but collected it from natural wildfires and kept it alive in circular hearths, creating microclimates within the rock shelter. The resulting 3D mesh now allows other teams to take measurements without touching the fragile original sediment.
Digital archaeology to understand fire control 🏺
This case demonstrates how 3D modeling serves not only for outreach but as an essential analytical tool. The spatial simulation of the campfires revealed patterns of seasonal occupation and activity zones around the heat. Comparing with other digitized African caves, an evolution in fire management is observed. Technology today allows us to virtually preserve a heritage that erosion threatens, offering future generations an exact window into humanity's first campfires.
How the technical challenge of reconstructing in 3D the structure and dispersion of Homo erectus campfires in Wonderwerk Cave from such ancient and fragmented archaeological evidence is addressed
(PS: If you dig at a site and find a USB, don't plug it in: it could be Roman malware.)