AN EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING: THE FIRST STRIKE

A few days ago, I was casually looking across the city skyline, as it spangled gloriously across the dark background of the night. The flickering lights from the distant high-rise buildings gave me the willies. I can't help thinking that all these lights, red ones, yellow ones, metal halides, led, and not to mention, the good old candles and matchsticks would not be here have had our ancestors failed to master the art of fire-making. As I settle down to write some articles on the evolution of artificial lighting techniques throughout the ages, I find it almost impossible to skip the part where our hunter-gatherer group of ancestors made the first fire and unknowingly changed the course of history forever. 

We humans have always searched for a way to make sense of the world around us. Curiosity drives us. Who are we, why are we here, where are we headed, what's our purpose and whether some extradimensional beings have fine-tuned our universe only for us - are some of the profound questions we have been asking for millennia if, not more. Smoke will come out of the metaphorical hard drive if we try to fit the sum-total of human knowledge gained so far since our ancestors first started to walk. Unfortunately, there are some things which we would never know, like, the exact thoughts of a human child while he sleeps blissfully in his mother's womb; whether there is intelligent/primitive life elsewhere, and if life actually came from elsewhere rather than being a product of some random combinations of massive organic molecules existing in the primordial ocean 4 billion years ago. But above all, we would never, and if ever, get a first-hand witness of the joy or fear when one of our distant ancestors first harnessed fire. 

Artist's impression of a Neanderthal group gathered around a fire, somewhere around 400,000-40,000 years ago, a time when most of Europe was experiencing the Ice Age.
 Image Credits: Photo by form PxHere

The Rise Of Man: Even though the origin of life could have been a random event, evolution is surely not, and all fossil evidence indicates how slow and gradual it has been, spreading through generations upon generations. Similarly, the mastery over fire did not happen on a clear, calm morning, as it requires critical thinking, keen observation, a significant level of intellectual curiosity, and an ability to try out new things. Before that, our ancestors had to familiarise themselves with the natural occurrence of fires, particularly in the wake of violent thunderstorms which were quite common in the African Savannah. It is hard to arrive at an exact date on the discovery of fire. So instead of just jumping to the prehistoric ways of fire making, it is wise to have a short glimpse at the human tree of life. It is as follows: 

• The ultimate ancestor to all primates evolved rapidly around 65-55 MYA (million years ago), after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
• The human race, however, began in the grasslands of central Africa around 6 MYA or so, with the evolution of the gorillas and the great apes, to be followed by the divergence of the chimpanzee and human lineages. The Ardipithecus group lived between 6 and a little over 4 MYA. These proto-humans shared dual characteristics of chimpanzees and the later hominins(another term for humans). They were primarily tree dwellers, although, from fossil records, we have learnt about their gradual ability at bipedalism, i.e., walking on two feet, instead of on fours.
• Next in the evolutionary tree comes the Australopithecus group, which lived in-between 4 to 3 MYA. They were well-adapted for living in the trees and the ground. Bipedalism was more pronounced than its predecessors. 
• The Paranthropus group lived between 3 to 1.2 MYA, succeeded by the Homo group. 
• The earliest members of the Homo group, the Homo habilis or commonly known as the Handy Man, were the first species to learn the use of stone tools that date back to 2.4-1.2 MYA. Although smaller than the modern humans, some scientists argue that they could be the direct ancestors of the modern Homo sapiens. Next in line came the Homo erectus or the Upright Man somewhere around 1.8 MYA to 200,000 years ago. As the name suggests, they walked on two-foot and were the first humans who moved out of Africa, reaching parts of Asia and Europe. Being preceded by the Homo heidelbergensis, who lived between 600,000-200,000 years ago, came the Homo neanderthalensis or the Neanderthals, living in parts of Europe between  400,000-40,000 years ago. They were a lot more advanced than their predecessors and more human looking, similar to the modern humans. Finally, the Homo sapiens evolved around 300,000 years ago and the anatomically similar Modern Man took the Great Leap Forward around 50,000 years ago.  

Embers of the past
Image Credits: https://pixabay.com/photos

The First Strike: Despite some discrepancies regarding fossil evidence, anthropologists believe that the process of controlling fire started with the Homo erectus hominids, and before 125,000 BC, widespread control over fire, which means the ability to create it, anywhere, and at will, was achieved. Remains of burnt bone, trees, stones unearthed from archaeological sites scattered across parts of Africa, Eurasia, and far eastern Asia, notably the Wonderwerk Cave, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, hint at the use of fire as far as 1 MYA. Although unlikely, some anthropologists speculate that fire could have been in use as early as 2 MYA. Initially, the hominins probably transported naturally occurring fires, in the form of a blazing branch or something like that inside their caves, and kept it burning by supplying additional fuel. In this way, even the Australopithecines had the chance to interact with fire and use it for their benefits, such as hunting wild animals as they fled from a violent blaze.

                                      Often, movies about the art of fire-making generally depict a group of Neanderthals trying to light up a small mound of dry grass and twig by rubbing a pair of stones. Evidence of charred remains of bones and wood at various Neanderthal and Homo erectus settlements indicates their frequent use of fire. However, we do not know whether they created or acquired it through natural sources. It is indeed a puzzling discovery that the Neanderthals used to have hearths in the warm season and not during the icy winters. As previously mentioned, anthropologists still do not know which of our ancestors made the first strike. However, all evidence points towards a rapid change in the way of life of the Homo erectus hominins, as they learnt the art of cooking and fire-hardening stone tools. This knowledge gave them an evolutionary advantage. The ability to create fire at will certainly is what separated the Homo sapiens from the other hominins and it could be one of the reason why the homo sapiens won the competition. 

For ages we have gathered around a hearth, and the practice still continues in the modern era.
Image Credits: Photo by form PxHere

Prehistoric Fire Making: Even with our best attempts at decoding history, we would never know about a so-called ordinary day of some Handy man while he was chiseling stones while preparing some hunting tools. On that day, as he struck the stones, he observed that sparks flew off in all directions  while some of them landed on a small mound of dry grass. That pile suddenly started to smoke, and from there, he could have got the idea of striking stones to create fire. However, that is just a theory, while the actual scenario could be much more different. 

                                                The most common prehistoric fire-making techniques are as follows: 

• The Stone Age refers to a broad period of human history and pre-history that lasted between 4 MYA to 2500 BCE, and came to an end with the discovery of smelting and metal-working. The Stone Age is named so because of the primary use of stones and rocks for hunting and foraging. In this period, the most efficient way of obtaining a fire was by applying the principles of friction. As the name suggests, friction fire, obviously through trial and error, was achieved by grinding/rubbing two pieces of solid combustible substance (wood) against each other or rocks and stones. One such tool is the hand drill, where a thin wooden shaft or a reed if spun under pressure with the hand, drills a hole against a soft wooden base. Continuous drilling creates a depression, and tiny scrapings of soft wood heat up into a small ember. The ember is then gently placed under a generous heap of tinder (something that lights up almost instantaneously), such as dried grass, moss, and fine wood scrapings. A gentle blow would supply the fresh air (oxygen) necessary to sustain the burning process. As soon as the flames erupt, it could be supplied with larger pieces of fuel (wood, bones, dung) and thereby, arrive at a stable fire.  
• The hand drill was the most basic tool used by our ancestors. In time, this was followed by the invention of more complicated tools as per ancient standards, requiring more materials. A fire-plough involves a similar mechanism. Instead of drilling into the base wood, a groove is cut and a blunt stake when rubbed vigorously under pressure, would scrape bits of the wood in the groove and form an ember. 
• A more efficient method was by rubbing together pieces of stones, known as percussion fire. Not all stones generate sparks upon contact. Hence our ancestors, had to search for the exact combination, such as quartz, pyrite, or flint. 

The art of cooking started somewhere around 1.5 MYA. In the above picture, a marshmallow is being roasted over a Swedish fire torch. Our ancestors have had surely missed a good delicacy. 
Image Credits: https://pixabay.com/photos

 Let's Light Up The Caves: Before the rise of modern civilisations and the start of the Bronze Age, paleolithic (another name for the stone age) people dwelled inside the caves. Since humans are incapable of seeing in the dark, they needed something other than campfires or hearths for bringing a little light inside the dark caves, as the former gave off a lot of smoke and obnoxious gases. From various sites such as the Lascaux in France, Isuntza and Altamira in Spain, and similar others, archaeologists have found perfectly intact remains of the very first portable lighting fixtures: the torch and the lamp, two of the most brilliant prehistoric inventions.  

                                                     The prehistoric torches were probably made from certain species of flammable wood such as juniper, birch, hickory, etc., wound up with tinder, and sometimes dipped in animal fat. These torches were portable enough to carry deep inside the caves, and illuminate every nook and cranny. But torches also had their disadvantages. They burned quickly with heavy smokes, the light was unstable, and it had to be oxygenated, i.e., supplied with a constant source of air for steady burning. 

                                                    History notes that most of the greatest inventions have been nothing short of pure luck or an accident. Hence, the discovery of lamp could have been a similar accident. In this regard, F.W Robins gives a very vivid description. He writes, ''probably some primitive man, idly watching the fire at the cave mouth, gradually noticed that some vegetable or animal substance... had dropped into a pool of fat from the carcass which had dripped into a hollow stone standing by the edge of the fire and was burning steadily and independently. Curiosity would make him draw the stone away – and possibly burn his fingers... Finally, he would make the momentous discovery that this little flame could be carried about the interior of the cave... Unlike the torch, it could be set down readily and did not burn away so rapidly''.  The lamp produced a steady illumination and lasted for long hours without further maintenance. They sometimes carved out a depression on softer stones such as sandstone and limestone. The latter was a much-preferred material due to its poor heat conductivity, thus easy to hold in one's hand. Apart from stone lamps, prehistoric humans also carved out animal horns and heads, and sometimes, shells.  

                                                      Archaeologists debate the origins of the first lamps to be around 70,000 BC. Initially, the stone age lamps were of a much simpler design, involving only a natural depression in rocks, deep enough to hold some animal fat and a wick, mostly spindled natural fibers. Towards the end of the Neolithic period and before the beginning of the Bronze Age, people learnt the art of pottery. As a result, lamp making also became a form of art and a way of life. The Romans, Greeks, Persian, Chinese, Byzantine, Judaic, Vedic, and others made their characteristic lamps which have luckily survived through the ages. There were ordinary lamps for the lesser sections of the society and decorative, expensive lamps for royalty and religious purposes.   

Paleolithic stone lamp
Image Credits: Sémhur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Evolution Of Artificial Lights: The development of artificial lighting techniques can be classified as follows:

• The Stone Age starts with man's gradual familiarity with the use of fire during the lower Paleolithic (3 million years and before), torches and stone lamps during the late middle-Paleolithic to upper-Paleolithic/Mesolithic, and the widespread control of fire with the agricultural revolution during the Neolithic/late-Mesolithic (before 3300 BC). 
• During the Bronze (3300 BC) and the Iron Age (1300BC), the stone lamps and wooden torches got replaced with metal. Through the ages, a variety of substances starting from resinous plants, animal fat (birds, goats, buffalo, seals, fish), and vegetable oil (olive and castor), were used as fuel. Although candles were invented somewhere around 3000 BC by the Egyptians, it was the Romans who regularly used them (candles) for religious purposes and occasional home lighting. 
• The Medieval Age did not contribute much to the development of lighting technologies.. 
• The Modern Era, from the 18th century, has witnessed an exponential growth in the development of artificial lights, starting with the new type of lighting fixture, called the Argand lamp. Gas lights were invented in 1792. During the 19th century, whale oil was found to be an excellent fuel for illumination and machine lubrication processes, eventually replaced by kerosene and hydrocarbon oils, discovered in the mid-19th century. At the same time, electricity marked the dawn of a new age, where light is cheaper and readily accessible, and darkness, a rare commodity. 

                                                   It is readily understandable that throughout history, there have been times when our good world plunged into eternal darkness. In those days, oil lamps and candles required animal fat. So in times of famine, when there was a widespread scarcity of food, people might have savoured upon candles to satisfy their hunger. Apart from that, unlike today, lighting in the middle ages was a costly thing, and not many could afford it. Light, to them, was a luxury reserved for the royalty and the gods. On the contrary, during prehistoric times, lighting a torch or a hearth was time-consuming, required hard labour and immense patience. It was only after the discovery of fossil fuels and the invention of the electric bulb did lighting became cheap and available for en masse. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.sapiens.org/archaeology/neanderthal-fire/
2. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quest-for-clues-to-humanitys-first-fires/
3. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-fire-makes-us-human-72989884/
4. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-discovery-of-fire-169517
5. http://www.hollowtop.com/spt_html/lighting.htm
6. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691988
7. Robins, F.W. The Story Of The Lamp (And The Candle). Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto, 1939

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