Recycling for efficiency dates back to early hominids: scientists
Recycling for efficiency dates back to early hominids: scientists
Cavemen from Mideast to Italy to Spain adapted flint, bone, other tools when need to reuse arose
AP
Oct 12, 2013
TEL AVIV – If you thought recycling was just a modern phenomenon championed by environmentalists and concerned urbanites, think again.
There is mounting evidence that hundreds of thousands of years ago, our prehistoric ancestors learned to recycle the objects they used in their daily lives, researchers at an international conference in Israel said last week.
“For the first time, we are revealing the extent of this phenomenon, both in terms of the amount of recycling that went on and the different methods used,” said Ran Barkai, an archaeologist and one of the organizers of the four-day gathering, which ended Thursday at Tel Aviv University.
Just as today we recycle materials such as paper and plastic to manufacture new items, early hominids collected used or broken tools made of flint and bone to create new utensils, Barkai said.
More:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/12/world/recycling-for-efficiency-dates-back-to-early-hominids-scientists/#.UloPreoo7_Q