PREISTORIA DEL FUOCO | 1983 | CATHERINE PERLES

Catherine Perlès’ Prehistoria del fuoco is a scholarly non-fiction work that explores the origin, invention, and multiplicity of uses of fire by prehistoric humans. Through a synthesis of archaeological evidence, experimental reconstructions, and careful critique, Perlès examines when fire was first used, how it might have been produced, how it was maintained, and what its manifold functions were—heat, light, cooking, tool technology, ritual. One of the book’s strengths is its critical approach: Perlès distinguishes solid evidence from speculation, challenges assumptions often repeated in popular accounts (for instance, about how easy fire-production must have been), and situates fire not only as a physical technology but as a cultural phenomenon impacting social life, material practices, and human adaptation. The book contributes to prehistoric studies by illuminating gaps in the evidence, proposing cautious hypotheses, and emphasizing the interplay of technical knowledge, environment, and symbolic meaning in the domestication of fire.