How far back do you think the concept of disposing sanitation and sewage goes? A hundred years? A thousand?

What if we told you that we have uncovered a water supply and sanitation method going as far back as the Neolithic Period, as far back as 12,000 years?

Twelve millennia of keeping our water clean has arguably been integral to our survival as a species. Let’s look back at the fascinating history of sewage and sanitation.

Stone Age

The oldest known water wells (constructed around 6,500 BC) have been discovered in the Jazreel Valley, Northern Israel. All the known settlements were built around a clean waterway, signifying that ancient humans of that time had an excellent sense of hygiene.

Such waterways and sanitation systems also appear in the Indus Valley and Mesopotamia, the different channels in the earth demonstrating their expert use of diverting waste water sewage from urban settlements.

Bronze Age

From Ancient China to Ancient Rome, aqueducts and water wells sprung up all over these mighty civilisations. The Romans even had plumbing during this time.

Even Ancient Persia was in on the game, showing that human beings across the globe had a great proclivity to producing excellent sanitation systems.

Medieval

This is where things get murky, at least in Europe. Cities all over the continent would have open sewage systems which produced an awful smell and led to the spread of many diseases.

Thankfully, by the end of the middle ages, natural waterways were covered with lead and other materials to prevent the spread of such ghastly pathogens and put an end to that nasty stink.

Early Modern

Things started to get better by the time the medieval period was over. Mayans were on top of the world in terms of sanitation as they actually had underground aqueducts and flush toilets which worked extremely well.

South America overall had better sewage and sanitation systems than the entirety of Europe who were still dying of disease from open sewer systems.

Modern

Finally, going from the Victorian era all the way to the 21st Century, Europe began to develop more sophisticated sewer systems, but even as far as the 1940s there were still inadequate sanitation systems in place.

With the introduction of septic tanks and sanitation plants, however, things have only got better and better. Waste management is better than it has ever been, and we can thank our ancestors for such well-developed systems.

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