Fire pits offer glimpse into Neanderthal life

Ancient hearths reveal that generations of Neanderthals regularly visited a rugged river valley in Spain over a period of around 200 years. Previous work estimated that Homo neanderthalensis made these fires around 52,000 years ago — plus or minus a few thousand years. Researchers dramatically narrowed down this timeframe by analysing traces of Earth’s changing magnetic field preserved in the fire pits’ minerals. The oldest and youngest of the hearths were last lit at least 200 years apart, with decades-long intervals between the use of different hearths.