Earliest use of coal fuel found at ancient site in NW China

Humans were burning coal as fuel more than 3,500 years ago, according to a remarkable new discovery in China.

The excavation site of Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of coal being burned on an ancient site in the Xinjiang region, northwest China, dating back to the Bronze Age.

The new findings mean that humans were using coal about 500 years earlier than previously thought, reported the People's Daily Online.

An archaeologist shows samples of coal excavated from 
Jiren Taigoukou ruins [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Previously, the earliest recorded use of coal was at the Fushan mine, northeast China, in about 1,000 BC, where the fuel was used to smelt copper.

Researchers from the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology found traces of burnt coal at the ancient settlement in Ili Valley.

Archaeologists of Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology find coal-use 
traces at the excavation site [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Pits discovered at the Jiren Taigoukou Ruins Site indicate the coal may have been used to sustain fires in the village.

Archaeologists also found copper tools on the excavation site that may have been forged using the fuel.

Ceramic vase excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Coal is abundant in the north and north west regions of the country, where woody vegetation is scarce compared to the south.

This may be why people in these areas would have used coal earlier than in other parts of the country, rather than just burning wood.

Copper blade excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Experts believe that people in northern and western China were the first in the world to use coal regularly as an energy source.

But the commercial use of coal only became widespread during the Song Dynasty in the 11th century AD, when it replaced charcoal in the production of iron.

An archaeologist of Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology shows copper residue
 excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

In Europe, the Romans are believed to have used coal in Britain between 100 and 200 AD.

However, it was only until the 18th century that coal was used extensively in Britain as an energy source.

Author: Emily Chan | Source: Daily Mail Online [August 18, 2015]