Whilst several explanations have been proposed for the absence of fire-related behaviours at well preserved Lower Palaeolithic sites, much of the emphasis of previous research has concentrated on our ability to find fire in the archaeological record. Furthermore, evolutionary models of early hominin fire engagement have often been developed and discussed in the context of early African hominins. Here we explore the role of fire in the behaviours, choices and lives of hominins during the earliest occupations of temperate regions, with a focus on Europe. We consider fire use in the context of Europe’s specific palaeoenvironmental conditions and discuss whether a long or short fire chronology model best fits the current evidence for the use of controlled fire in these regions during the Lower Palaeolithic.

We propose two models for hominin fire behaviours in the temperate latitudes, using a heuristic ‘macroscale to microscale’ approach to understanding the needs for — and the use of — fire during this period. We argue that such holistic approaches must combine experimental work, experiential observations and cost-benefit approaches and should consider site context and function, fire function, social behaviour, and mobility, to evaluate the limited evidence for fire use in the Lower Palaeolithic. We highlight that, varying with seasonality, fire function (and the associated costs and benefits) was of particular importance and may explain the overall paucity of evidence for fire use in temperate regions prior to the Middle Palaeolithic. This has implications for other potential survival strategies that are invisible in the early archaeological record, such as shelter, clothing, and the putrefaction of meat for later consumption.

尽管对保存完好的下旧石器时代遗址不存在与火有关的行为提出了几种解释，但先前研究的大部分重点都集中在我们在考古记录中发现火的能力。此外，经常在早期非洲人均素的背景下开发和讨论早期人均素火参与的进化模型。在这里，我们将探讨在温带地区最早占领期间，火在人类行为，选择和生活中的作用，重点是欧洲。我们在欧洲特定的古环境条件下考虑使用火源，并讨论长或短火年表模型是否最适合当前在旧石器时代下这些地区使用受控火源的证据。

我们提出了两种在温带纬度中人均行为的模型，使用启发式的“宏观尺度到微观尺度”方法来了解此期间对火的需求和使用。我们认为，这种整体方法必须结合实验工作，经验观察和成本效益方法，并应考虑场地背景和功能，消防功能，社会行为和活动性，以评估下旧石器时代消防的有限证据。我们强调指出，随季节的变化，火灾功能（以及相关的成本和收益）具有特别重要的意义，并且可以解释中古石器时代之前温带地区火灾的总体证据不足。这对早期考古记录中看不见的其他潜在生存策略有影响，