Some Uses of Fire

[storm]

i'm wondering if you can add to this list. surely there are a lot of uses that i've not thought of...

Some Uses of Fire

Heat/Flame
- straighten spindles and shafts
- warmth
- forcing animals into a preferred direction (hunting)
- modifying vegetation landscape (farming, coppicing)
- rendering food palatable/digestible
- coal-burning containers
- water purification
- cauterizing wounds
- removing seed chaff
- modifying wood, stone and bone for use as tools/handles
- soften materials to bend and to make easier to modify with tools
- scarification tattoos
- hardening the points wooden tools/weapons
- melting hardened substances for use

Smoke
- communication at distance
- waterproofing tanned hides
- food preservation
- a carrier for inhalant medicines
- repel insects
- food preserver

Ash/Char/Soot
- charcoal for easier future fire-building
- mineral paint
- medicine
- salt
- toothpaste
- slipping hair from hides
- deodorizer

Light
- seeing in the dark
- communication at distance
- keeping animals out of camp
- psychological security

[RovingArcher]

Cooking rocks for several purposes including but not limited to the sweat bath.

[lardbloke]

I think you have just about covered them all:

Heat/Flame

- Fire setting (felling trees and mining rocks)
- remove moisture
- ritualistic purposes

hard to think of any others that do not fit into the present list....

[Stuart]

Psychological benefit, nothing raises moral like a fire people feel better for having a fire even if they do not require it for any specific purpose.

using fire to break down and/or change chemical compounds in order to produce other useful chemicals, firewood to lye for example.

fire cutting as in the felling of trees by fire

controlled burning of an area in preparation for settlement and/or farming