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Fire!

Fire!. “the ecological audacity of this act is staggering”. Fires and Stories. The Girl on Fire (Katniss) Greek myths of Prometheus Aztec Fire Ceremony Association of fire with magic and restoration of health and life force…. Evolution of Life on Land vs Water.

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Fire!

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  1. Fire! “the ecological audacity of this act is staggering”

  2. Fires and Stories • The Girl on Fire (Katniss) • Greek myths of Prometheus • Aztec Fire Ceremony • Association of fire with magic and restoration of health and life force….

  3. Evolution of Life on Land vs Water • Why did life evolve on land? -human arms and hands -right materials for making tools -fire control! Essential for all subsequent major energy innovations (So even though dolphins/whales may be more intelligent than us, they were limited by oceanic conditions)

  4. What is fire? • Destructive ? • Irreversible ? • No purpose ? • Self-generating • How can such a destructive force be made useful?

  5. Human History and Fire Control • When??? --Homo erectus --speculation 1.5 to 1 million years ago (mya) --clear evidence: 790,000 ya (Middle East/Israel) Gesher Benot Ya’aqov

  6. Fire and Ecological transformations • 1st use of fire lead to leap in human impact on their local surroundings leading to increased complexity of societies through the social cooperation needed to control fire • Emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry (10,000 ya) • Large scale industrial production (1800’s)

  7. Evidence • 790,000 ya: charred wood and seeds next to lake at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov site • 200,00 --40,000 ya: intentional hearth construction Klasies River Caves (so.Africa) and Tabun Cave (Israel) • Evidence of fire used for cooking: 780,000--400,00 old late Homo erectus site at Zhoukoudian near Reijing, China • 400,000 ya Homo heidelbergensis near Nice on the French Mediterranean

  8. Effect on Nutrition/why fire was healthy • Allowed for eating of new sources of matter and energy through cooking, roasting and smoking. This included the preservation of food such as meat and fish. • Aided in digesting of grass seeds such as wheat, rice and millet and to eat a variety of beans (need heat to make them edible) • Humans moved to the top of the Paleolithic food pyraid, while gathering energy from the lower sections • Increase of human population..in part due to our talents as omnivores--survival,migration and domination

  9. Fire control effects on environment • Stimulated growth of certain plants and animal species (while diminishing survival of others) • Changed entire landscapes • Humans had a role in this shift

  10. Paleolithic Terraforming: Firestick Farming in Australia • Aboriginal Australians (50-60,000 ya) • Master farmers • Controlled burns to clear brush, prevented big fires and encouraged game in certain locations • Encouraged biodiversity • 1/3 of food from firestick management of land

  11. Firestick Farming • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbydOLuVoZw • Khan Academy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUyaeWxJhaA

  12. Crafts and Industries • Purposeful shaping and alteration of materials • Pottery, ceramics, metallurgy began around campfire.

  13. Additional Advantages of Fire • Warmth • Keeping away predators as well as mosquitoes and flies • Light provided would change sleeping rhythms • Facilitated large game hunting by warding off large carnivores and driving prey • Clearing of woods (pasture for game) • Enlargement of human niche and growing dominance over other animals

  14. Advantages of Clearing Land • Drove animals out (hunting) • Increased accessibility (nuts and fruits) • Fertile and un-shaded soil (attract game) • Communal Advantages “Survival Units” increased collective productivity which led to increase in living standards • Social Aspects comfort from and love fire for sense of community: hearth/festivals

  15. Competition between Hominoids • Homo erectus prevailed perhaps due to control of fire • Other theories posit that there was a more peaceful spread of fire • Led to people living in colder climates ad high mountains / spread of early humans out of Africa to large parts of earth • Allowed them to escape tropical diseases

  16. Costs and Impacts • Dependency on fuel for fire • Necessitated increased regimentation-control of fire, social cooperation and division of labor Humans tapped an external energy source, making life more efficient by being able to more fully exploit other plant and animal species. However, in the process they potentially destroyed other options.

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