Chesowanja

A site in Kenya, dated to 1.4 mya, which has produced very early evidence of fire in association with tools. If it was man-made, as opposed to natural cause such as lightning, then there is the question as to which hominid was responsible: Homo erectus or Austrlopithecus robustus.

An open site in Kenya, which has produced the earliest evidence yet recorded of fire in association with tools. The site is dated to 1.4 million years ago and predates the previous earliest evidence for fire — at Zhoukoutien — by nearly 1 million years. However, it has been suggested that the burning documented at Chesowanja was produced not by man, but by some natural cause such as lightning. If it was man-made, the problem arises as to which hominid was responsible. At a date of 1.4 million years the most plausible candidate is Homo erectus, but the only hominid actually documented at Chesowanja is Australopithecus robustus, normally regarded as neither a tool-maker nor a meat-eater (and therefore an implausible candidate for a fire-maker). One view that has been expressed is that A. robustus was the victim of the fire-making Homo erectus, but in the absence of actual H. erectus fossils, this seems like special pleading. See also Australopithecus, Homo erectus,