Researchers analyzing 790,000-year-old sediment from the Gesher Bnot Ya'akov archaeological site in Israel have uncovered direct evidence of firewood use by early Middle Pleistocene hominins. Rather than finding intact charcoal, the team spent decades meticulously sorting and microscopically identifying tiny wood and charcoal fragments. This painstaking analysis reveals the specific types of fuel early human ancestors utilized nearly a million years ago.