An international team of archaeologists has uncovered a large, stone-lined hearth – dating to about 300,000 years ago – in a cave near the modern city of Rosh HaAyin.

The cave, called Qesem, is located at the foothills of the Israel’s central mountain ridge. Scientists believe it was used by human ancestors in the middle Pleistocene, between 420,000 and 200,000 years ago.

The 2009-2012 excavation seasons at the site uncovered what has been identified as a hearth.

Using infrared spectroscopy, team leader Dr Ruth Shahack-Gross of the Weizmann Institute and her colleagues have determined that the material found in the hearth contains burnt pieces of animal bones and soil that had been heated to high temperatures, more than 500 degrees Celsius.

The hearth is located in the center of Qesem cave and covers an area of about 4 sq. meters.

Around and inside the fireplace, the team has found flint tools that were used for cutting meat. In contrast, the tools discovered just a few meters away had a different shape. The scientists also found a large amount of burnt animal bones – further evidence for repeated use for cooking meat.

“Various activities in different parts of the Qesem cave points to an organization of space that is typical of modern humans. This suggests that the cave was a sort of base camp that prehistoric humans returned to again and again,” said Dr Shahack-Gross, who is the first author of a paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

She said the finds tell us something about the impressive levels of social and cognitive development of humans living some 300,000 years ago.

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R. Shahack-Gross et al. Evidence for the repeated use of a central hearth at Middle Pleistocene (300 ky ago) Qesem Cave, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science, published online January 25, 2014; doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2013.11.015