Microplastics have been found in historic soil samples for the first time, according to a new study, potentially upending the way archaeological remains are preserved.

Researchers found microplastics in soil deposits more than seven meters (23 feet) underground, which were deposited in the first or second century CE and excavated in the 1980s, a team led by researchers from the University of York in the United Kingdom said in a statement published Friday.

In total, the study identified 16 different microplastic polymer types in contemporary and archived soil samples, the statement adds.

    • @taiyang
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      1210 months ago

      It was actually the Etruscans. But common misconception…

      • @[email protected]
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        610 months ago

        Cave drawings by neanderthals in the Fertile Crescent in today’s Iraq depict them hunting mammoths and making plastic.

        • @taiyang
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          410 months ago

          Ah yes, I remember now. Nerf darts are actually derivative of plastic arrows heads that were dated over hundreds of thousands of years ago. The design is neigh indistinguishable from that of our ancestors’ nerf arrows.