Humans used fertilisers 5,000 years ago: Study

New excavations in Sweden indicate that fertilisers may not be a modern innovation but were already in use some 5,000 years ago during the Stone Age.

New excavations in Sweden indicate that fertilisers may not be a modern innovation but were already in use some 5,000 years ago during the Stone Age.

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Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden are studying the remains of a Stone Age community in Karleby outside the town of Falkoping, Sweden.
Scientists who were trying to identify parts of the inhabitants’ diet, in the results of their first analyses, found evidence that fertilisers were used already during the Scandinavian Stone Age.

Using remains of grains and other plants and some highly advanced analysis techniques, the two researchers and archaeologists Tony Axelsson and Karl-Goran Sjogren have been able to identify parts of the diet of their Stone Age ancestors.

“Our first task was to find so-called macrofossils, such as old weed seeds or pieces of grain. By analysing macrofossils, we can learn a lot about Stone Age farming and how important farming was in relation to livestock ranching,” said Axelsson.