Who’d have thought it? Archaeologists have concluded that our ancestors recycled stone artefacts for other uses as far back as the Upper Palaeolithic Age, 13,000 years ago. Stone tools found in Tarragona, Spain, suggest that sustainable practices were necessary in areas where natural resources were depleted, for example, if suitable stones were in short supply. Recycling meant that hunter-gatherers could stay closer to home, rather than having to travel to find raw materials to make new tools. This new finding means that future finds must be interpreted with caution – objects found in one site could have been moved away from their original location for reuse.
Comments are closed.