Fertilizers were used 8,000 years ago

European farmers were the first to use manure for their crops from 8,000 years ago.

A research team at Oxford University found that during the Stone Age about 6,000 BC, farmers knew how to use cattle manure such as cows, sheep, goats, and pigs as a slow-release fertilizer. for plants.

A sample of southwestern barley fossils in Germany.(Photo: Oxford University)

Until now, it was believed that the use of fertilizer for plants did not appear until the Iron Age, Roman period. According to scientists' findings, in coal-fired cereal grains lies in the stone archeological period dating from 6,000 to 2,400 BC taken from 13 locations across Europe containing large amounts of stable isotopes of nitrogen-15 (N15), a rich isotope in fertilizers. The discovery is published in the first edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , ScienceDaily said.

Dr. Amy Bogaard of Oxford University said: "Farmers use fertilizer, apply long-term farming methods on their land, not a nomadic lifestyle. They soon realize the value of the land and find ways to maintain it for children and grandchildren later ".

In the past, it was thought that fossilized human fossils had a high N15 value due to a diet high in meat and milk. However, the results suggest that cereal proteins are much higher than previously thought, and new crops are a major source of food in their diets during this period.