Lake Sediments Help Scientists Trace 7,000 Years Of Mining, Metal Use In China

June 20, 2008 — A new geochemical study illuminates 7,000 years of mining and metal use in central China and links these trends to fluctuations in airborne pollution during the Bronze Age and other military and industrial periods in Chinese history. The study could help scientists better assess the accumulative environmental effects of human activity in the region since prehistory times.