Neandertal advice for improving your tinder profile : a pilot study using experimental archaeology to test the usefulness of manganese dioxide (MnO2) in Palaeolithic fire-making

The collection of the black minerals comprised primarily of manganese dioxide (MnO2 ) by Neandertals in France is a known archaeological phenomenon, with some of these blocks exhibiting evidence of having been abraded to produce powder. This has generally been interpreted as the production of black pigment that may have been applied to the body as a form of symbolic expression. However, Heyes and colleagues (2016) demonstrate that MnO2 can reduce the auto-ignition temperature of wood by upwards of 100°C and suggest that this special pyrotechnic property of powdered MnO2 may have been appreciated by Neandertals. Specifically, they suggest that the addition of MnO2 to tinder materials may have aided in fire-making. The purpose of the pilot study described here is to test the utility of MnO2 as a tinder enhancer during actualistic fire-making experiments. The flint-and-pyrite fire-making method was employed to produce sparks that were directed onto fluffed tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) with and without added MnO2 to determine if and the degree to which this material improves the ability of the tinder to capture and propagate sparks into a glowing ember. The results of this pilot study lend support to the hypothesis of Heyes and colleagues by demonstrating that MnO2 improves the spark capturing efficiency of tinder material over untreated tinder, thereby reducing the time and energy required to produce fire using the percussive fire-making method. However, it was also observed that the incorporation of pyrite (FeS2 ) dust into the untreated tinder over the course of the experiments appeared to improve its ability to capture sparks, lending to the idea that pyrite powder added to tinder prior to making fire could also expedite the process and largely negates the need for collecting MnO2 for this purpose.