Fire and how it changed people’s lives

How people learnt to control fire, how we know, and how fire changed food, safety and tools. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

Know it already? Jump straight to the quiz

Your progress0 of 2

What fire changed

Tools: hardened wood and worked metal (smelting is heating rock to get metal out). Later the steam engine also ran on heat.
People gather around a fire to share food and stories; many cultures have fire stories, like the Greek Prometheus.
Fire has a “double nature”: it helps, but can destroy. A veld fire burns across grassland; farmers sometimes burn old grass for new growth.

Fire gave warmth, light and cooked food.

Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Evidence and safety

Charcoal in an old hearth shows which wood burned and when; burnt bone shows what people cooked and ate. Chipping a stone flake needs no fire. Safety: never leave a fire burning unattended, and douse a cooking fire with water or sand.

Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary

Evidence of fire goes back about a million years; Swartkrans in South Africa gives early evidence.
A hearth is a fireplace; a controlled fire is in one spot, ringed by stones.
Making fire: twirl a fire stick, or flint that sparks onto tinder (dry material).
Cooked food was safer and softer; fire kept people warm and wild animals away.
Control of fire was a turning point: food, safety and tools changed.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Fire’s three S’s: Snug (warmth), Safe (protection), Softer food (cooking).

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.

Now the real quiz!

The quiz has many more questions on this topic. Every question shows straight away whether you are right and explains why.

Take the quiz: Fire and how it changed people’s lives

All Grade 5 History summaries

For parents

Read one part together and ask your child to tell it back in their own words.
The ticks (“I know this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.

Follows CAPS for Grade 5 Social Sciences (History). Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.