TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A 300,000 year old hearth unearthed in the Qesem Cave, near Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel suggests that the use of fire to cook was a communal and social event as well.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science have been collecting samples at the archaeological site since 2000. They found a thick deposits of wood ash in the center of the pit. On analyzing this mixture they found bone and soil deposits that had been heated to high temperature mixed in with the ash, providing sufficient proof that the site was used as one large barbecue to cook meats.