Primordial Fire

The ability to make fire and harness its energy was a highly significant development, achieved by Homo erectus (around 1.6 million - 300,000 BCE), and gave fire important symbolic qualities.

The act of making fire represents the spark of imagination and creativity, and the energy of fire is in itself symbolic of power: harnessing and using nature to control other aspects of the natural world, bringing life-sustaining warmth, and frightening away threatening animals.

Fire enabled people to extend the day after dark, creating a social time around a campfire or hearth, sharing myths and stories.

At this early stage fire also became a symbol of trasformation through the process of cooking.