Journal
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
Volume 27, Issue 17-18, Pages 1733-1739Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2008.06.009
Keywords
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Funding
- Israel Science Foundation [300/06, 886/02]
- German-Israeli Foundation [GIF 1-896-208.4/2005]
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem
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This paper presents the culmination of an extensive study of fire-use at the Early and early Middle Pleistocene site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. Using software available in the GIS package, we have examined the spatial distribution of burned and unburned flint microartifacts from eight Acheulian archaeological horizons. The results of this study demonstrate that the burned microartifacts are never evenly distributed and dense concentrations are observed. The circumstances that introduced these burned flint artifacts to the archaeological layers are examined, suggesting that anthropogenic rather than natural fires are responsible for the observed patterns. As the evidence for the use of fire is recorded throughout the long stratigraphic sequence, it seems that fire was continually used by the Acheulian hominins of the site. This repetitive use of fire indicates that the hominins of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov had a profound knowledge of fire-making, enabling them to make fire at will. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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