HUMANS used fire more than one million years ago - 300,000 years earlier than previously thought, new research suggests.

A team led by the University of Toronto and Hebrew University of Jerusalem has identified the earliest-known evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors after microscopic traces of wood ash alongside animal bones and stone tools were found in a layer dated to one million years ago at the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa.

The huge cave near the edge of the Kalahari Desert has been the scene of previous excavations which have uncovered an extensive record of human occupation.

Analysis of sediment has revealed ashed plant remains and burned bone fragments, both of which appear to have been burned locally rather than carried into the cave by wind or water.

Extensive evidence of surface discolouration that is typical of burning was also found.

University of Toronto anthropologist Michael Chazan said: "The analysis pushes the timing for the human use of fire back by 300,000 years, suggesting that human ancestors as early as Homo erectus may have begun using fire as part of their way of life."

"The control of fire would have been a major turning point in human evolution.

"The impact of cooking food is well documented, but the impact of control over fire would have touched all elements of human society," he said.

"Socialising around a camp fire might actually be an essential aspect of what makes us human."

The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today.