Abstract
Abstract This chapter considers the influence of controlled fire use on the evolution of human cognition during the Pleistocene using the principles of cognitive archaeology in conjunction with Material Engagement Theory (MET). It is proposed that this approach provides an effective way to better understand the causal and constitutive nature of domestic fire on human cognition. This proposal is supported through a discussion of the evidence for fire-keeping and fire-using practices of Middle Pleistocene humans from the sites of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov and Qesem Cave in Israel. These examples show that domestic fire would have influenced human cognition in complex ways, and that it makes sense to consider the material elements of fire as part of, not distinct from, cognitive processes. Before concluding, the chapter also considers the influence of fire use on brain evolution in light of MET.
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