Essay About Homo Heidelbergensis And Oldest Known Control Of Fire

Recent Discovery in Homoheidelbergensis
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Homo heidelbergensis
Around 200,000 to 700,000 years ago a species was roaming the earth that was similar to
modern man. The discovery Homo heidelbergensis was groundbreaking in many ways from their use
of tools to their physical attributes to potentially being the earliest form of Homo sapien. This species
may reach back in time to 1.3 million years ago, and been through out the world touching parts of Asia,
Africa, and Europe. There are key discoveries yet to be known about this species but the discoveries
that we have made regarding Homo heidelbergensis are shaping the way we look to the past.
Many scientist believe this species is ancestral to our own. Some evidence to suggest this is that
it is the first early human species to live in colder climates. Homo heidelbergensis lived at the time of
the oldest known control of fire and use of wooden spears. This was the first human species to
routinely hunt large animals. Remains of animals such as wild deer, horses, hippos and rhinos with
butchery marks on their bones have been found together at sites with Homo heidelbergensis. Primary
indication of this was the discovery of wooden spears of around 400,000 years old at the site of
Schoningen, Germany, which were found together with the remains of more than 10 butchered horses.
There is evidence to suggest Homo heidelbergensis was capable of controlling fire by building hearths,
or early fireplaces by 790,000 years ago. Fire-altered tools and burnt wood have been found at a site in
Israel to evoke this. Tribes probably gathered around hearths sharing food, staying warm, and to guard
off predators.
In 1908 near Heidelberg, Germany, a german workman named Daniel Hartmann stumbled upon a
mandible in the Roth sandpit just north of the village of Mauer. This mandible was nearly complete
except missing the premolars and the first two left molars. Hartmann gave it to Professor Otto
Schoetensack from the University of Heidelberg who identified and named the fossil. The next Homo
Heidelbergensis remains were found in France, Italy, and Spain.