Abstract The sedimentary deposits of the Lower Paleolithic to Neolithic sites situated in the Belan valley, north-central India offer a unique opportunity to understand the linkage between the prehistoric human environment and fire events. This is the first study to analyse macroscopic charcoal particles from 64 paleosols collected from six archaeological sites in the Belan valley to reconstruct fire activity. Accumulation of macroscopic charcoal particles in woody ecosystem during period of high rainfall, which likely suppressed natural forest fire, suggests prehistoric human-induced fire occurred during ~55 to 50 ka at the Main Belan archaeological site. Comparison with other records of human-induced fire suggests that the Belan valley's record is the first known and reported evidence of fire used by prehistoric humans during the Middle Paleolithic phase from the Indian subcontinent. Fire activity peaked during the Early to Mid-Holocene (~10 to 5 ka) period, which overlaps with the timing of agricultural practices in the Belan valley. The use of fire was persistent from Middle Paleolithic to Neolithic, which suggests a smooth transfer of knowledge from the earlier prehistoric populations to the later farming communities. The global compilation of fire records from archaeological sites also suggests that the prehistoric humans exploited and controlled fire more regularly and frequently since the Middle Pleistocene.

中文翻译：

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印度次大陆旧石器时代中期史前人类控制使用火的第一个证据

摘要 位于印度中北部 Belan 山谷的旧石器时代至新石器时代遗址的沉积沉积物为了解史前人类环境与火灾事件之间的联系提供了独特的机会。这是第一项分析从 Belan 山谷六个考古遗址收集的 64 种古土壤中的宏观木炭颗粒以重建火灾活动的研究。大雨期间木本生态系统中宏观木炭颗粒的积累，可能抑制了天然森林火灾，这表明在 Main Belan 考古遗址的约 55 至 50 ka 期间发生了史前人为火灾。与其他人为火灾记录的比较表明，贝兰山谷的 的记录是第一个已知和报道的印度次大陆旧石器时代中期史前人类使用火的证据。火灾活动在早至中全新世（~10 至 5 ka）期间达到顶峰，这与 Belan 山谷的农业实践时间重叠。从旧石器时代中期到新石器时代，火的使用一直持续，这表明知识从早期的史前人群顺利转移到晚期的农业社区。来自考古遗址的全球火灾记录汇编也表明，自中更新世以来，史前人类更频繁、更频繁地利用和控制火灾。这与 Belan 山谷的农业实践时间重叠。从旧石器时代中期到新石器时代，火的使用一直持续，这表明知识从早期的史前人群顺利转移到晚期的农业社区。来自考古遗址的全球火灾记录汇编还表明，自中更新世以来，史前人类更频繁、更频繁地利用和控制火灾。这与 Belan 山谷的农业实践时间重叠。从旧石器时代中期到新石器时代，火的使用一直持续，这表明知识从早期的史前人群顺利转移到晚期的农业社区。来自考古遗址的全球火灾记录汇编也表明，自中更新世以来，史前人类更频繁、更频繁地利用和控制火灾。