Humans Used Fertilizers 5,000 Years Back: Study Finds

A new study has found that fertilizer was used some 5,000 years ago during the Stone Age.

The research was conducted by archaeologists Tony Axelsson and Karl-Göran Sjögren from the University of Gothenburg who were studying the remains of a Stone Age community in Karleby outside the town of Falköping, Sweden.

"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 in a news release. The archaeologists also collected bone remains of cattle from the site.

The isotopes from the bones could reveal the use of animals in the ancient society.

The grain analysis showed that both wheat and barley were cultivated in farms. The presence of an isotope N15 (nitrogen 15) in high levels revealed that fertilizers may have been used in this part of the world around 5,000 years ago.

"We will continue our analyses both in the field and in the lab, and are hoping to find more macrofossils. Hopefully we'll find some weed seeds, as they may help confirm that fertilisers were indeed used since the type of weeds found in a field can signal whether fertilisers or some other method was used," added Axelsson.