Early humans used fire to permanently change the landscape tens of thousands of years ago in Stone Age Africa
- Written by Jessica Thompson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Yale University
Today the shoreline of Lake Malawi is open, not forested the way it was before ancient humans started modifying the landscape.Jessica Thompson, CC BY-NDFields of rust-colored soil, spindly cassava, small farms and villages dot the landscape. Dust and smoke blur the mountains visible beyond massive Lake Malawi. Here in tropical Africa, you...