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Nick Ashton

Nick Ashton

Professor and Curator of Palaeolithic Collections, British Museum

Appears in 1 story

Notable Quotes

This is the most remarkable discovery of my career. This is a 400,000-year-old site where we have the earliest evidence of making fire—not just in Britain or Europe, but anywhere else in the world.

Stories

Ancient humans made fire on demand 400,000 years ago

New Capabilities

Lead researcher on Barnham excavation

Early humans struck pyrite against flint to spark fires in a Suffolk field 400,000 years ago—350,000 years before anyone thought possible. British Museum archaeologists found two pyrite fragments near a hearth littered with fire-cracked hand axes and sediment burned to 700°C, evidence that early Neanderthals weren't just using fire—they were making it.

Updated Jan 7