Early humans were the first to recycle
Submitted by Andy_B on Friday, 12 July 2019 Page Views: 543
Discoveries
Eco-friendly people tend to assume that recycling is the result of the environmental movement of the 1970s, which set the stage for the first Earth Day. The truth is that recycling is as old as time. Athens organised the first municipal dump program in the western world. However, this is not the most important even in recycling history. Almost half a million years ago, early humans recycled. Breaking down and reusing materials that would otherwise be discarded came naturally to these people. If you believed that recycling is a recent marvel promoted by those concerned about protecting the environment, you are mistaken.
Early hominids recycled abandoned or broken flint tools to reshape them
People have been making stone tools for at least 2,6 years, as indicated by a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Prehistoric humans used stone tools to secure resources from their environment. They were deployed for everything from scavenging to hunting. Flint was of course a very important part of the Stone Age. This unique rock was used to make hand-axes for cutting wood and animal bones. It was very useful for making scrapers, knives, and projectile points.A new Israeli study reveals that our human ancestors were in the habit of recycling flint so as to make new tools. With the collaboration of members from the University of Rome, researchers from Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures discovered that prehistoric people repossessed abandoned or broken flint tools to create exceptional utensils. This happened about 400,000 years ago. It seems that they were capable of planning in advance and making tools kits that enabled them to leverage all their natural resources. A tool was made first and a second one was added later on when the artefact was upcycled.
According to professor Barkai, recycling is what these people would normally do. This finding is, therefore, important from a cultural standpoint. The study demonstrates that recycling is deeply rooted in history and tradition. Recycling represented a deliberate process, which means that it involved the weighing of reasons for and against the course of action. Needless to say, deliberation did not involve one individual but an entire group. Just as we today reuse paper and plastic to make new things, early people would collect tools that were of no good use and transform them into new instruments. Evidence of this recycling was found in Tel Aviv, Israel
Until this point, it is clear that recycling is not a modern concept. People have been recycling for thousands of years by melting and reforming materials. Evidence of this was found at the site of Qesem Cave, which is located outside of Tel Aviv. Hominid occupation of this cave was documented in a layer of sediment which can be divided into an Upper Sequence and a Lower Sequence. This place was discovered during a road construction which was carried out in 2000. It is here that Israeli archaeologists came across flint chips that had been reshaped into tiny little blades. Owing to the condition of the cave, the rock utensils were preserved in great condition, together with the residual material from their use. All stages of stone tool manufacture have been found. Interestingly, scientists that have been working in caves in Spain and North Africa have also found evidence suggesting that our prehistoric ancestors recycled. Attention should be paid to the fact that it is very hard to identify recycling. The archaeologist has to make the difference between the two stages involved in the process of manipulation: the moment prior to the alteration of the object and the moment after. This is the way systematic studies are carried out. At present, there are numerous excavation sites around the world where signs of prehistoric recycling are present. Getting back on topic, the continuous practice at Qesem Cave was not regardless of planning or principle. It was an integral part of the hominids’ strategies.
Early recycling was actually a basic survival strategy
Archaeologist Avi Gopher strongly believes that recycling was a way of survival. To be more precise, this action was very important for your predecessors’ survival, who wanted to conserve energy and preserve raw materials. The fact is that people from prehistoric times were not concerned about the environment and they did not know anything about pollution. If the flint tools were reused, it was no longer necessary to make a trip to the quarry to get more. As you can see, it has economic importance too since recycling increased the availability of resources, particularly during times of insufficiency.
The practice of recycling remained virtually unchanged over the millennia, yet the art of making flint tools continued into the Iron Age and beyond. To conclude, recycling did not start in modern times. On the contrary, it has been present since the dawn of time. This useful practice has expanded significantly over the years and, now, everyone has access to recycling programs. What will happen next? Only time can tell.
Image credits: Top left: marine litter, Creative Commons by Bo Eide. Middle: Excavations at Manot Cave, Israel, photo by research team. Bottom left image: Hand axes made by Karl Lee laid out in Kent's cavern. Photo by Angie Lake
