World's First Polluted River From 7,000 Years Ago Found

Researchers may have found that contamination and pollution of surface water have been ongoing for the last seven thousand years. With ongoing societal and environmental issues on the rise, scientists are finding the best solution to the problems regarding pollution and climate change. What is interesting about this is that industry-caused pollution has been existing for more than thousands of years.

A dry riverbed in southern Jordan has been discovered to have evidence of pollution caused by the combustion of copper. According to a study by Russel Adams of the University of Waterloo, this may be proof of how earlier humans have started to learn how to turn metal into usable ware.

The Wadi Faynan region may be one of the ancient centers of copper production since according to Sputnik News, this area in southern Jordan has been the lead in the expansion of the copper industry. There were ancient mines, smelting furnaces and even the first factory of copper found within the region.

There must have been one point in time when ancient humans have started to transition from stone tools to metallic tools, which has led societies of today to fully utilize its strength in various industries such as transportation and construction. As ancient people started to learn how to experiment with copper ores, they have also learned how to develop alloys which had higher strength and better flexibility.

Similar to what has been happening today, pollution and water contamination from the earlier times may have been the cause of health problems which led to the decline of ancient populations. A study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information has shown large traces of heavy metals in many ancient bones from different epochs. This is a clear indication of how contamination and pollution had an effect on earlier populations of humans.