How did early humans purify drinking water?

Answer 1

the other guy got it right. beer and wine came into existence because of necessity as well as for other reasons we all know and love.
they knew the water was not good to drink, so they found a way to be able to drink it.
damn if we cannot find something better after all these millennia!

Answer 2

Usually they didn't becuase many of the pollutants in the water today simply were not of issue then.
That being said, not all water was potable and some did have to be treated. Hence, every civilization had it's own from of beer and wines. the bedouin created a drink called 'seconjabin' (or Arabian Tea as it is sometimes called) that is still served in tea houses today as a means of purifying the water and killing growth.

Answer 3

Forget about early Human beings..... even today there are people from various parts of the world drinking water in their natural form.

But obviously because of all the scientific advancement.... they have learnt to boil their water.

And as told..... why would early humans need to filter it with hardly any pollutant unlike today. And nature for sure offered the best and it still does.

Answer 4

For all of you people claiming that they didn't need to, you really need to read up. Water is a major source of disease. Dysentery, parasites, all kinds of things. Many many people dired from well water. Generally "early" humans means before even agriculture was invented, so I'm sure they didn't purify water at all. They just sniffed and drank.

Answer 5

They didn't. You know how when us westerners go to a developing country, we're supposed to brush our teeth with bottled water and only drink bottled water? It's because we're spoiled with all this filtering stuff we do. No one wants the parasites, but by not being exposed to any ever, we're really at risk for Montezuma's Revenge.

Even if your stomach is stronger from drinking straight from streams, it's not really the safest ever, especially once towns and cities got going. A major problem pre-sanitation departments is cleaning water, sewage, and drinking water mixing. Beer brewing was a favorite way of making sure that what you drank wouldn't kill you because it kills off all the nasties.

Answer 6

For the most part, early humans did not, or, at least we have no evidence that they did.

We know they had a short life span, and this was likely partially why.

As for the person who told you modern life makes the impurities, that's bunk. Most of the things modern life adds- mercury, pcbs, lead- need to be ingested in large amounts to be harmful.

Far more harmful are protista like the amoeba, and those appear mostly in naturally pure water.

Answer 7

The water didn't need to be purified. There was no pollution and there was to small of a population to cause much harm. Even if they did need to purify their water, they would boil it.

Answer 8

They didn't, thus, they had to be very selective. Water from springs was best, any "rushing water" was known to be safe, stagnant water was not. Early humans also knew to dig wells, or natural underground springs, and knew these were safe so long as they were not polluted.

Answer 9

Um, they didn't. They drank from lakes and streams. They may have used very primitave ways to filter it if there was too much dirt and mud and leaves in it, but beyond that, they just drank it.

Also, rushing streams and springs tend to have a way of self-purifying itself. Waterfalls, etc...

Answer 10

I don't think they did. That may be among the reasons that people didn't live to be thirty for a very long time.

I think that could be a reason why beer and wine were so widely accepted.