The importance of fire
We share our lives on this incredible planet with many other creatures, each of which has its own special trait or
survival skill, a characteristic attribute by which it can be defined. Our special trick gives us the impression that we
are in some way elevated above other animals, but of course, we are not; it is important to remember that we are
mammals, upright walking creatures, descended from an ancient line of apes believed to have originated in Africa.
With a free thumb, we have the ability to fashion tools easily. It is believed that we have been making tools for more
than 2.5 million years. Yet that does not define us. Other animals can make tools, too: sea otters use stones to break
open oyster shells, and other primates even fashion weaponry for hunting.
What I believe defines us as human is our mastery of fire. Before we assume that we are the only users of fire in
nature, we should think again. Just last year I watched hawks in Australia pick up burning sticks from a bushfire and
drop them to spread the fire, flushing out or scorching potential prey. But no other creature has been found who can
make fire at will.
In the world of archaeology, the earliest sign of human control of fire is a hotly debated topic, with few definite remains
surviving from such antiquity. However, evidence appears to show fire hearths dating from one million years ago. It
is reasonable to assume that fire was originally obtained from natural sources such as bushfires, which could then
be kept burning.
Fire altered humankind's potential forever. Now, we wielded a tool powerful enough to keep even the most ferocious
early Palaeolithic predators at bay; the fear of nocturnal dangers was dispelled; and the fire became a focus for
life, around which our forebears could gather in good cheer. (That sight is still played out nightly in the villages of
the San Bushmen of the Kalahari.) In the flames and coals of their fires, our ancestors learned to alter their food, te
improve its flavour, to neutralise plant toxins, and destroy harmful bacteria. Consequently, our dietary range grew and
diversified. It has been argued that our 'fire-improved' diet may well have been a catalyst for the development of our
large brain.
Until fire was harnessed, the length of the day was determined by sunlight; firelight extended the working day,
made time available to communicate, to share ideas and be creative. In the sign language of Native Americans, the
concept of meeting for a talk is defined by coming to a fire and sharing ideas, and even today the footlights of our
theatres mimic the flickering light of a fire on the face of an ancestral storyteller. We don't have to have been there to realise that the question of how to make fire from scratch would have occupied the minds gathered at the campfire.
If I could travel back in time, I would hope to witness the first of our ancestors achieving this remarkable skil\. The
consequences of that first ember were astonishing. No modern invention comes close in importance to the creation
of the first fire. For more than 30 years, I have been teaching students how to make fire, by every primitive means
known. Although we will never know which was the first method of fire-lighting, some things never change. Each
time a student succeeds in friction fire-Iighting, their face lights up with a huge sense of achievement. Like an ancient
ritual, the drama of the first fire is relived.
Being able to make fire at will brings confidence. Our ancestors were able to spread out, exploring their landscape in
smaller foraging parties with fire for safety and with smoke to locate each other again. (1 have witnessed Aboriginals
in Australia's Arnhem Land watching for smoke across flooded swamps to track the movements of family members.)
Now, even colder landscapes posed little obstacle as our ancestors migrated across the planet, perhaps c1inging te
the unexplored coastline or following seasonal migrations of game inland. The fireside became our most important
laboratory. Here, as we stared into the flames, we observed the way fire could transform materials. We learnt te
harden the points of wooden spears, to soften thermoplastic tree resins and use them as adhesives. Here, too, we
would discover that clay could be hardened into pottery. The process of scientific investigation was reinforced along
the way through observation, hypothesis and experimentation. Inevitably, we discovered metal and the rest is history.
Everything flows from here, from the clothes we wear to the incredible devices contained in our pockets and the
means by which my words reach you now. AII this derives from our mastery of fire.
Source: O'Dell Felicity (2015) "The importance of fire" in Reading and Use of English Test 2 from Advanced Trainer. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press: Dubai. Pages 77 and 78.
