The charred remains of flint from prehistoric firesides suggest our ancient ancestors had learned how to create fire 790,000 years ago. Previous research had shown that early humans – probably Homo erectus or Homo ergaster – from this period could manipulate and use fire, but it wasn't clear whether they had the ability to create the fire themselves, or whether they stole fire from natural occurrences like lightning strikes.The site includes 12 layers of remains from different groups of early humans covering a 100,000 year span, and has been dated back to 790,000 years ago, long before modern Homo sapiens evolved. As each society left the region, water from the lake washed over the site and buried the remains, preserving their tools for archaeologists to analyse.