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The initial glimmer of human life on earth came about at the very instant of the first chemical reaction. The course of our shared history, which seems
so fundamental to our existence, could have in a flash of different combination of circumstances led to hugely different outcomes for humanity. One such event that radically
altered the course of history was man’s capacity to dominate fire. This had two consequences. One is guiding humankind into a world of warmth, cooking for giving higher
nutrition, and community gathering. The other was destruction. Aside from making human life much more comfortable, fire could also be employed as a weapon for eliminating
obstacles, enemies’ possessions, or even other human beings. Fire was immediately irresistible to man, drawing us together, mesmeric with its mysterious power and primal
pull. Still today, we cannot resist gathering around a real fire, with the flicker of wood smoke under the nostrils, the snap and crackle of burning timber, and the glow of red hot
embers. Before the tv screen, the centre focus of a sitting room was the hearth. Now our cheeks glow from the screens of our iPhones.
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Fire can be a great danger to humans, yet it is essential to the advancement of
civilisation. The stone formations themselves are determined by its effervescent
character and place of origin.
FIRE AND STONE
