Why would we need minerals that have to be mined or manufactured if we haven’t always had access to these processes?

Question

Does having access mean it just affects quality of life and/or life expectancy?

Did we change to need, or benefit from, these minerals?

Or were there always alternatives, but mining is more efficient?

In:

Answer 1

The old saying goes that if it can’t be grown it must be mined. Our earliest ancestors would have also been the first to mine probably looking for flint or obsidian for tools and some of these products would have also been some of the first to be traded and used in commerce. The Copper Age which preceded the Bronze Age started around 3500 BC and by it’s very name required mining. A quick google search tells me you can go back even further and find there was an active mine for coal in southern Africa going back 20,000-40,000 years. Mining minerals might go back further than you think.