The poorer the population, the more the recycling. The less industrial a society, the more recycling. (In today's world, think of Cuba.) Common sense. If you don't have tools, supplies and energy to make new, you reshape the old as best you can. It is the most resource and energy efficient. A no-brainer.

I can just see what the frummies will say: The world is only 6,000 years old (7,000 at the absolute outside) and to say otherwise is a chillul hashem (a desecration of G-d's name). Here's what I say: nyoo boy! It's for reasons such as this that there needs to be a separation of synagogue and state. We keep this up and Israel turns into a Jewish Iran. And people wonder why N. American Jews don't make aliyah, let alone visit Israel. Woody Allen just said (in the last few days) that at 77 he's never been to Israel and has little interest in going. Makes you wonder why.

On the contrary, throw-away is the recent phenomenon. My grandparents, for example, would repair their cooking pots several times until they were no longer serviceable. After that, they became planters or animal feeding utensils. The same was true of almost every resource they possessed.

including archaeologists.... perhaps they believe the store shelves in the Stone Age were always crowded. lol!