Fire in History and Mythology

By Martin Ettington

Fire is fascinating isn’t it? We love to watch fires, whether in a campfire, one in a backyard hearth, in an in house fireplace. We love to cook in it, use it to purify things, or even produce weapons.

Building fires is also a lot of fun. What a rush to start a fire from sticks and fire starters that you put together then watch it burn. And what about cooking “s’mores” as a desert with your friends of family? There are also lots of methods to start a fire.

Fires also protect us from wild animals. Even the largest predator doesn’t want to go near a fire. They are scared of it—and for good reason.

There are also many legends of fire beings from the fire breathing dragon to the Phoenix which burns to death and is reborn out of the ashes.

Fires have also destroyed many cities in history as well as wild fires which can destroy huge areas of land and the properties on it. These fires led to the development of fire departments.

Cooking was first done on fires and is still done on many fires today. Thousands or years of recipes were all developed over open fires.

There is also poetry written about fire. I’ve included some near the end of the book.

Man’s climb from animals to modern humans is closely related to the usage of fire. We would probably not have survived through history without the command or fire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martin Ettington
• Release date: Oct 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005267582

Martin Ettington

The owner Martin K. Ettington is an Engineer by training and has had multiple careers. These include technical sales for GE and HP. Martin also Owns his own software and consulting business.Martin’s interest in the Paranormal and Occult goes back to his childhood. He has had many paranormal experiences and has been a student of Eastern Philosophies and Meditation for 35 years.Seeking Enlightenment; he knows that we are already all Enlightened. We just have to realize this deeply.His books are expressions of his creativity to help others understand what he has internalized through study, experience, and membership in different societies.Not many technical persons or scientists spend a lot of time in parallel studying the Metaphysical and have had many spiritual or psychic experiences too.Therefore, Martin believes that he can provide a unique vantage point to integrate Western Scientific thinking with Eastern exploration of the mind and spirit.

Book preview

Fire is fascinating isn’t it? We love to watch fires, whether in a campfire, one in a backyard hearth, in an in house fireplace. We love to cook in it, use it to purify things, or even produce weapons.

Building fires is also a lot of fun. What a rush to start a fire from sticks and fire starters that you put together! And what about cooking s’mores as a desert with your friends of family? There are also lots of methods to start a fire.

Fires also protect us from wild animals. Even the largest predator doesn’t want to go near a fire. They are scared of them—for good reason.

There are also many legends of fire beings from the fire breathing dragon to the Phoenix which burns to death and is reborn out of the ashes.

Fires have also destroyed many cities in history as well as wild fires which can destroy huge areas of land and the properties on it. These fires led to the development of fire departments.

Cooking was first done on fires and is still done on many fires today. Thousands or years of recipes were all developed over open fires.

There is also poetry written about fire. I’ve included some near the end of the book.

Man’s climb from animals to modern humans is closely related to the usage of fire.

2.0 Man’s Historical Use of Fire

I’ve always been in a trance when looking at a fire. It is magical. Imagine how much more magical our ancient ancestors thought it was when this was the only thing they had which separated them from animals.

The first proto humans to have their own fire must have been amazed at it and considered it to be from the Gods. They would first have realized that it kept wild animals away. So it made a good protection in front of the caves or early buildings they lived in.

Soon somebody experimented with throwing meat, vegetables, or fruit into a fire. Imagine their amazement when it made the meat and plant items much easier to digest. After that everyone wanted their meat cooked rather than raw.

2.1 Primitives and Fire

The control of fire by early humans was a turning point in the technological evolution of human beings. Fire provided a source of warmth, protection from predators, a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a method for cooking food. These cultural advances allowed human geographic dispersal, cultural innovations, and changes to diet and behavior. Additionally, creating fire allowed human activity to continue into the dark and colder hours of the evening.

Claims for the earliest definitive evidence of control of fire by a member of Homo range from 1.7 to 2.0 million years ago (Mya). Evidence for the microscopic traces of wood ash as controlled use of fire by Homo erectus, beginning some 1,000,000 years ago, has wide scholarly support. Flint blades burned in fires roughly 300,000 years ago were found near fossils of early but not entirely modern Homo sapiens in Morocco. Fire was used regularly and systematically by early modern humans to heat treat silcrete stone to increase its flake-ability for the purpose of toolmaking approximately 164,000 years ago at the South African site of Pinnacle Point. Evidence of widespread control of fire by anatomically modern human’s dates to approximately 125,000 years