Human populations in North America might have used fire as a tool thousands of years earlier than previously thought, according to new research. The study from the University of Portsmouth has cast new light on the fire history of the California Channel Islands, a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. The study found a significant period of charcoal deposition, which occurred between 12,500 to 14,000 years ago, possibly coinciding with the arrival of the first humans on the island.