By MALCOLM RITTER, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When did our
ancestors first use fire? That's been a long-running debate, and
now a new study concludes the earliest firm evidence comes from
about 1 million years ago in a South African cave. The ash and
burnt bone samples found there suggest fires frequently burned
in that spot, researchers said Monday. Over the years, some
experts have cited evidence of fire from as long as 1.5 million
years ago, and some have argued it was used even earlier, a key
step toward evolution of a larger brain. It's a tricky issue.
Even if you find evidence of an ancient blaze, how do you know
it wasn't just a wildfire? The new research makes "a pretty
strong case" for the site in South Africa's Wonderwerk Cave,
said Francesco Berna of Boston University, who presents the work
with colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. One expert said the new finding should be considered
together with a previous discovery nearby, of about the same
age. Burnt bones al