Humans in Relation to their Environment

Introduction

Throughout history, humans have used what was present in the environment to aid their survival. The discovery and use of metals have been a gradual but extremely influential one. Evolving with early humans from personal adornment to the development of more efficient tools and lastly to full integration in every aspect of our modern life. This paper will look at how humans related to their environment before the discovery of metals. It will further go on to describe what metals are and how we incorporate them into our lives, and how extraction and use affect the environment around them. Lastly, the discussion will return to the Human Niche and how it has changed since the rise of mining and our need for metal.

The Human Niche without Metal

To begin the story of how metals changed the human niche we begin with the Neolithic humans and how they lived in their environment. Being resourceful people, they spent their time hunting, fishing, gathering vegetation and other materials such as rocks and minerals to aid in their survival. (Aitchison, 1960) The typical rocks and minerals used for cutting were Obsidian and Chert due to the conchoidal fracture pattern, which creates sharp edges when pieces are broken off. Granite and Quartzite developed into grinding tools, as these rock types are durable and resistant to erosion and were abundantly available. Wood and bone developed into needles and handles due to the malleability of the material. (Hartenbery S. & McGeough A, 2013)

They began experimenting with farming and domesticating animals; they were starting to settle down, building houses from sunbaked clay. They began creating pottery and trading their grains, tools, knowledge and trinkets with other traveling g...

... middle of paper ...

...ralding metal. A history of metals (pp. 1-17). New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015027254625

Evans, A. M. (1997). The environmental impact of mineral exploitation. An introduction to economic geology and its environmental impact (pp. 27-37). Malden, MA: Blackwell Science.

Hartenbery S., R., & McGeough A, J. (2013). Hand tool. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.britannica.com/topic/254115/contributors

Lynch, M. (2002). Mass production. Mining in world history (pp. 267-319). London, UK: Reaktion Books.

Oxford University Press. (2001). Metal. In C. Soanes (Ed.), Oxford dictionary of current english (Third ed., pp. 565). New York: Oxford University Press.

Skinner, B. J. (1969). Metals: The scarce elements. In A. Lee McAlester (Ed.), Earth resources (pp. 47-73). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.