Final answer:
The use of fire by early humans represents a significant evolutionary milestone, providing warmth, aid in cooking and tool-making, and playing a role in landscape management, with archaeological evidence dating controlled use back to about 780,000 years ago.
Step-by-step explanation:
Use of Fire by Early Humans
Archaeologists characterize the "use of fire" as a crucial development in human history, with evidence suggesting that Homo erectus may have been the first to utilize it. By about 125,000 years ago, modern humans had acquired the skill to start and control fire, signifying significant ecological implications. Fire provided warmth, facilitated cooking, and enabled tool production, enhancing hunting capabilities. Early humans also used fire for landscape management, as seen in indigenous practices in central Australia, leading to a mosaic of burnt patches crucial for maintaining various species. There is controversy regarding how prehistoric human fire usage influenced landscape fire activity and the subsequent impact on megafaunal extinctions.
The oldest established continuous fire site for Homo heidelbergensis is dated to around 780,000 years old, indicating that controlled fire was a common practice among premodern human societies.