Fire may appear 1 million years ago

Human ancestors first gathered around the fire 1 million years ago, 300,000 years earlier than the previous theory.

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Homo erectus may be the first to use fire

Experts at the University of Toronto (Canada) and the University of Jerusalem Hebrew (Israel) found traces of wood burning ash and charred animal bones preserved well in caves in South Africa.

Both ash and bone seem to be burned on the spot, not by the wind or by being swept into the cave, according to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .

The discovery shows that the art of fire-making can start from the time of the erect, the scientific name is Homo erectus, the first human to develop hunting and gathering skills.

These relics were discovered at the Wonderwerk cave, a famous archaeological site near the Kalahari desert, which holds countless traces of ancient humans.

The Telegraph newspaper quoted Michael Chazan, co-director of the project, saying: 'The results of the analysis have pushed back the time of humanity's use of fire for another 300,000 years, suggesting that early human ancestors like Homo erectus could began to get used to fire in everyday life '.