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Original poster

Do you think pre-historic people all discovered fire at the same time?

43 replies

SociableAtWork · 20/07/2025 15:28

Inspired by another - great - thread, what do you think?

We know pre-historic people discovered fire but was it at the same time the world over? How did the first one/group/tribe do it, and how d’you think they felt after? How long had they not had it for? How did they then realise they could grind wheat and make bread?

Waste some time with me (please, it’s a dull Sunday) pondering this and other great unknowns!

OP posts:
the80sweregreat · 20/07/2025 15:29

Hard to know isn’t it! Our origins are a bit of a mystery, yet so many things were invented or discovered then.

Badbadbunny · 20/07/2025 15:31

Talking about other great unknowns, how did completely different civilisations that couldn't possibly have known about/travelled to others, all build stone pyramids, i.e. Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs - it's too much of a coincidence that completely different civilisations thousands of miles apart did virtually identical things!

cakeorwine · 20/07/2025 16:01

I wanted to post the Horrible Histories Dragon Den about fire.

It must have been so incredible to have found out how they could make it

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

History
W0tnow · 20/07/2025 16:03

It must be near impossible to make fire in humid environments. How did they manage it there I wonder?

Reallybadidea · 20/07/2025 16:07

The first person to discover it probably did a tiktok and it went viral

Toodles89 · 20/07/2025 16:09

There's a book called Sapiens which covers the ruse of human beings, it's great if you ponder these types of things.

the80sweregreat · 20/07/2025 20:46

Reallybadidea · 20/07/2025 16:07

The first person to discover it probably did a tiktok and it went viral

Lol
Tik tok for the ‘ cave people ‘ society.
In fire fluensers.
‘ yeah, today we are making fires people ‘

Summerhillsquare · 20/07/2025 20:55

It spread quickly by tribes being a couple of days walk from one another. Human being are great teachers and unlike most other species, cooperative.

Like wildfire, you might say 🤔 which is more likely the first use, keeping fires going using embers.

cakeorwine · 20/07/2025 20:59

Summerhillsquare · 20/07/2025 20:55

It spread quickly by tribes being a couple of days walk from one another. Human being are great teachers and unlike most other species, cooperative.

Like wildfire, you might say 🤔 which is more likely the first use, keeping fires going using embers.

So do you think someone came to a settlement and then just said "Hey look what I've learnt..."

That must have been fascinating !!

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:02

I think it was a single person, a woman. She was isolated from her own people, living totally alone in the world, in a valley with a river running along a stony beach covered with iron pyrite stones. She had gone down there to find materials to make some new tools for herself. She began to make the new tools there and by accident picked up an iron pyrite stone instead of her retoucher, brought it to the flint without looking but happened to be looking as the spark flew. Being a woman, therefore blessed with practical intelligence, and dependent on her own wits to survive she thought about what had happened and explored the new phenomenon. Eventually when she bumped into other people she was able to pass it on as a guest gift.

I loved Ayla and think she deserved to find Durk again, and also deserved far better than Jondalar.

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:05

Badbadbunny · 20/07/2025 15:31

Talking about other great unknowns, how did completely different civilisations that couldn't possibly have known about/travelled to others, all build stone pyramids, i.e. Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs - it's too much of a coincidence that completely different civilisations thousands of miles apart did virtually identical things!

Oh god. Why don’t you experiment taking a few handfuls of sand next time you’re on the beach and pour it out of your hands on top of itself. What shape does it make? How does it remain stable?

The cultures you mention were all thousands of years apart as well as thousands of miles. The origins of Egypts pyramids are well known with early experiments littering their landscape. They’re also actually quite different in shape as well as function from those in America.

Potatomashed · 20/07/2025 21:06

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:02

I think it was a single person, a woman. She was isolated from her own people, living totally alone in the world, in a valley with a river running along a stony beach covered with iron pyrite stones. She had gone down there to find materials to make some new tools for herself. She began to make the new tools there and by accident picked up an iron pyrite stone instead of her retoucher, brought it to the flint without looking but happened to be looking as the spark flew. Being a woman, therefore blessed with practical intelligence, and dependent on her own wits to survive she thought about what had happened and explored the new phenomenon. Eventually when she bumped into other people she was able to pass it on as a guest gift.

I loved Ayla and think she deserved to find Durk again, and also deserved far better than Jondalar.

You win! Ayla changed my life

CrustaceanOcean · 20/07/2025 21:08

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:02

I think it was a single person, a woman. She was isolated from her own people, living totally alone in the world, in a valley with a river running along a stony beach covered with iron pyrite stones. She had gone down there to find materials to make some new tools for herself. She began to make the new tools there and by accident picked up an iron pyrite stone instead of her retoucher, brought it to the flint without looking but happened to be looking as the spark flew. Being a woman, therefore blessed with practical intelligence, and dependent on her own wits to survive she thought about what had happened and explored the new phenomenon. Eventually when she bumped into other people she was able to pass it on as a guest gift.

I loved Ayla and think she deserved to find Durk again, and also deserved far better than Jondalar.

Love love love this series!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 20/07/2025 21:11

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:02

I think it was a single person, a woman. She was isolated from her own people, living totally alone in the world, in a valley with a river running along a stony beach covered with iron pyrite stones. She had gone down there to find materials to make some new tools for herself. She began to make the new tools there and by accident picked up an iron pyrite stone instead of her retoucher, brought it to the flint without looking but happened to be looking as the spark flew. Being a woman, therefore blessed with practical intelligence, and dependent on her own wits to survive she thought about what had happened and explored the new phenomenon. Eventually when she bumped into other people she was able to pass it on as a guest gift.

I loved Ayla and think she deserved to find Durk again, and also deserved far better than Jondalar.

Clan of the Cavebear? My mother had the book and I vaguely remember wondering what gesture it was exactly that informed the women that the men wanted to have sex. In my defence, I was ten at the time (and bored in the summer holidays). That Brud was a dickhead, though.

ForLovingAquaSheep · 20/07/2025 21:13

Fire could have been discovered by a freak accident. Surely as much as the idea spreading or gaining traction it is more a survival of the fittest type thing. Those that didn't died out.

I'm more interested in things that were clearly deliberate weirdness. Who was the first person to (a) milk a cow and (b) drink it?

SpottyAardvark · 20/07/2025 21:17

No.

The British discovered fir3 first, then we didn’t know what to do with it & didn’t invest in using it properly so the foreigners took it on and soon did it better than us.

A bit like football, really. Or cricket. Or computers…..

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 21:18

NeverDropYourMooncup · 20/07/2025 21:11

Clan of the Cavebear? My mother had the book and I vaguely remember wondering what gesture it was exactly that informed the women that the men wanted to have sex. In my defence, I was ten at the time (and bored in the summer holidays). That Brud was a dickhead, though.

Show quote history

It was a whole series. Valley of Horses was my favourite although it does get a bit porny . Please we’re British. Critically acclaimed for accuracy and it still stands on that.

3ormorecharacters · 20/07/2025 21:23

I imagine lots of these things were discovered a bit at a time, initially by accident probably. Fires were probably started accidentally and then people figured out how to recreate the necessary conditions. That scenario probably played out in various locations at various times once humans as a species had reached a certain level of development.

PractisingMyTelekenipsis · 20/07/2025 21:57

The first doctor taught them. By 'taught' I mean gave them matches. So when they ran out there was no more fire.

WaryCrow · 20/07/2025 22:07

I’ve just been googling milk - I thought that was relatively recent, and it is. @SpottyAardvark may be right about it being the fault of the British …
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20190218-when-did-humans-start-drinking-cows-milk

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-did-humans-start-drinking-milk

https://www.science.org/content/article/humans-were-drinking-milk-they-could-digest-it

I’ve got a nice book called ‘After the Ice’ I’m still reading which talks about domestication. There’s a lot to domesticating grain before you start grinding it. We stand on the shoulders of giants indeed. I don’t know why I never looked much into the Neolithic before, ‘tis fascinating.

Why humans have evolved to drink milk

Humans didn’t start out being able to digest animal milk – but now many populations do. Why has evolution favoured tolerating dairy?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20190218-when-did-humans-start-drinking-cows-milk

Usernamenope · 21/07/2025 04:36

Not sure how it happened but I can imagine the first reaction to it was probably 'WTF!' followed by 'Owww!'

GripGetter · 21/07/2025 05:28

I wondered about that yesterday while watching Alone! Still wondering...

CanadianJohn · 21/07/2025 05:28

The movie "Quest for Fire" is interesting. It's on Youtube, and no doubt elsewhere.

spoonbillstretford · 21/07/2025 05:36

Badbadbunny · 20/07/2025 15:31

Talking about other great unknowns, how did completely different civilisations that couldn't possibly have known about/travelled to others, all build stone pyramids, i.e. Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs - it's too much of a coincidence that completely different civilisations thousands of miles apart did virtually identical things!

At one time the continents were more joined up. We were attached to Scandinavia 10,000 years ago. Plus some peoples were amazing sailors and navigators and travelled thousands of miles.

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