Make: Like The Pioneers

Chapter 13. Oil Lamp from the Cave Dwellers of Lascaux

Figure 13-1. What your iPhone is to you, the oil lamp may well have been to the cave dweller.

By William Gurstelle

In Africa, Europe, and China, field scientists have uncovered the fossilized remains of campfire-charred bones so old that they likely predate Homo sapiens. The archaeological evidence suggests that our humanoid ancestors began taming fire perhaps as long as 1 million years ago.

While these creatures most likely lacked the wherewithal to kindle fire, they did, it seems, have the mental capacity to capture naturally occurring fire, tend it, and preserve it for long periods. For ...