THE ESSENTIAL
- Research carried out in a cave in the south-east of France has made it possible to locate the location of the hearth at the time of the caveman
- This location responded to the need to protect once morest the health effects of smoke from the hearth
The energy performance of housing, which will certainly be in the news for the next few years due to the application of new standards, would not be new… A study carried out by the University of Tel Aviv and relating to the cave prehistory of Lazaret in the Alpes-Maritimes shows that more than 150,000 years ago the first humans already knew where to ideally place the hearth which allowed them to heat themselves and cook their food so that it brought them optimal comfort, but minimal exposure to unhealthy fumes!
A cave of 290 square meters
To realize this study published in Scientific Reports, the researchers carried out a series of simulations of smoke dispersion in 16 possible locations inside this cave dating from the Middle Paleolithic and with a “habitable” surface of 290 square meters. To assess the impact of smoke on the health of its very ancient inhabitants, the scientists wanted to compare their measurements with the recommendations for exposure to smoke issued by the World Health Organization. They thus mapped four zones inside the cave: a “red” zone where the smoke density is very high, a “yellow” zone conducive to occupation of the premises for a few minutes, a “green” zone compatible with long-term occupancy and a “blue” zone without any smoke.
A home in the optimal location
“We found that average smoke density was minimal when the hearth was at the bottom of the cave, allowing smoke to easily flow out of it, but we also found that in this situation the most suitable for prolonged activity is relatively far from the hearth itself”, emphasizes Yafit Kedar, the doctoral student who led this study. And it is precisely in an area of 25 square meters including location of the fire and “living area” that the first humans had installed their hearth.
In fact, the first humans needed to find in the layout of their cave the right balance between proximity to the hearth for their daily activities and breathable air. “Our study shows that prehistoric humans were able, without sensors or simulators, to choose the ideal location, which demonstrates their ingenuity, their ability to plan their actions and their awareness of the damage caused to their health by exposure. in the smoke”, underlines Pr Ran Barkai, co-author of the study.
