If a fire did go out, it was reignited by striking flint with the mineral pyrite, which contains sulfuric gases. In canoes, the fires were burned on sand or clay hearths, and the children were often responsible for stoking them. The Kawésqar were so well adapted to the cold that centuries later NASA, hoping to figure out ways for astronauts to survive on a frozen planet, sent scientists to the region to learn their methods.
