Scientist Learn About the Past Through Trash

Scientists have long searched through refuse heaps to learn about the past.  Much can be discovered about behavior, diet, and lifestyle by examining what gets thrown away and how it is disposed of.  This goes for animals as well as humans.  Food scraps left behind by them to become fossilized remains are valuable tools to determine what life was like when the food was fresh.  Finding a garbage midden of a Stone Age tribe of hunter gatherers is the dream of every field researcher who studies archeology.  From it can be determined the sort of animals they hunted, and the tools they used to do it.

The more things humans made, the more they needed to throw away. As human society began to associate in bigger bands, it became necessary to organize more sophisticated methods of disposal.  Trash that is allowed to accumulate has always been a hazard.  It becomes a breeding ground for disease, emits unpleasant odors, and attracts both insect and animal pests such as flies and rats.  These in turn present more health hazards so it was recognized early on that specialized zones were needed for trash along with efficient means to get it there.

There are landfills on the Mediterranean island of Crete similar to the ones in use today that date back to 3000 B.C.  Much as we would do today, the people there back then excavated a site some distance from where they lived, dragged their wastes on sleds or carts, and tossed them over the edge.  Slaves were assigned to spread the stuff into a level layer and cover them over with a few feet of earth.  The process was repeated until the hole was filled.

Value of Recycling Learned Early in History

Human civilization recognized early on that there were valuable materials to be had among items that were being tossed away.  By 2,000 B.C., people in China were scavenging through trash piles in hopes of finding things made of bronze.  There were metal works where people could sell their metal scraps.  Making metal out of ores was a laborious process that consumed far more wood then was needed to melt existing metal down and recast it into something new.  The Chinese by this point had also developed the method for turning organic wastes into mulch through the use of composting.

The Black Death of the Middle Ages shows the dire consequences that can result from people living in densely populated sites that have poor sanitary facilities.  Garbage was often simply strewn out on the streets to be foraged over by dogs and pigs.  This attracted swarms of rats which carried fleas that spread the disease to people living in unsanitary hovels.

In response to this, England began employing “rakers” who would rake the trash from the streets onto carts, haul them away from the community, and dump them in a designated spot.  Already back then, people could expect a pick up about once a week.   The people who are assigned to deal with the trash have always played a vital role in keeping a civilization healthy.