Sophisticated pyrotechnology in the Ice Age: How humans made fire tens of thousands of years ago

https://phys.org/news/2025-04-sophisticated-pyrotechnology-ice-age-humans.html
Whether for cooking, heating, as a light
source or for making tools—it is assumed
that fire was essential for the survival
of people in the Ice Age. However, it is
puzzling that hardly any well-preserved
evidence of fireplaces from the coldest
period of the Ice Age in Europe has been
found so far.
A group of scientists led by the
University of Algarve and the University
of Vienna has now been able to shed some
light on the mystery of Ice Age fire.
Their analysis of three hearths at a
prehistoric site in Ukraine shows that
people of the last Ice Age built
different types of hearths and used
mainly wood, but possibly also bones and
fat, to fuel their fires. The results
have been published in the journal
Geoarchaeology.
...
"We know that fire was widespread before
and after this period, but there is
little evidence from the height of the
Ice Age," says William Murphree, lead
author of the study and geoarchaeologist
at the University of Algarve.
One interesting finding from this was
that these fires reached temperatures of
more than 600°C, which proves
sophisticated mastery of pyrotechnics
even in the face of extreme environmental
stresses.
The analysis also shows that humans used
wood as their main fuel during the peak
of the Ice Age, with charcoal analyses
indicating spruce wood. However, other
fuels such as bone or fat could have
been used.
...
"People perfectly controlled the fire
and knew how to use it in different ways,
depending on the purpose of the fire. But
our results also show that these
hunter-gatherers used the same place at
different times of the year during their
annual migrations," explains Nigst.
Despite these new findings, the small
number of fireplaces from the Last
Glacial Maximum remains puzzling. "Was
most of the evidence destroyed by the
ice-age-typical, alternating freezing
and thawing of the soil?" asks Murphree.
"Or did people not find enough fuel
during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did
they not use fire, but instead rely on
other technological solutions?" adds
Nigst.
...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.70006
Fire Use During the Last Glacial
Maximum: Evidence From the
Epigravettian at Korman' 9, Middle
Dniester Valley, Ukraine