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Through the ages5/1/2023 A breakthrough occurred with the development of coking, which allowed melting at lower temperatures and provided a harder, more durable version of the metal (really a carbon-iron alloy, steel). But pure iron is fragile, and the first uses of iron were generally ornamental. The first smelting of iron probably occurred in Anatolia, part of modern Turkey, in 2000 b.c. As temperatures in kilns were raised to accommodate new ores, this flux would leave iron residues. Iron oxide was used as flux in the smelting of copper to help the metal agglomerate. Iron began to replace bronze in about 1200 b.c. The dominance of bronze ended with the production of iron, a harder and stronger material. It was widely adopted and made into weapons, tools, such as axes and scythes, and ornaments. It was initially made by smelting different ores together, rather than by combining pure metals. The first bronze was arsenic-based, but true bronze, an alloy of tin and copper, can be traced to the Sumerians in 2500 b.c. Whatever the source, it led to the creation of bronze, the metal that ended the Stone Age, in about 3000 b.c. This might have been helped out by natural contamination, mistakes (such as confusion caused by the similarity of the flames from copper and arsenic), or scarcity of ores. Copper became the starting point for the invention of alloys. Copper is a relatively soft metal, but it can be cast into tools and weapons. Concentrating copper would have required the melting together of smaller pieces. Copper is too brittle to be cold hammered, but it could be hot hammered into sheets. Kilns are hot enough to form of copper if the malachite and other copper-containing minerals are present during the firing process. Smelting, the use of heat to extract metal from ores, may have been discovered accidentally by potters. It was copper, beginning in about 4000 b.c., that allowed humans to extend the techniques of metallurgy. Still, gold did teach some fundamental principles of metallurgy that would become useful in later times: discovery (finding and recognizing a metal in nature), concentration (in the case of gold, by cold hammering smaller pieces into larger pieces), and shaping (working the metal into a desired form). The only metal artifacts of this age are beautiful ornaments and simple utensils, such as cups and bowls. The most useful material of this early time was stone, so this period is not known as the Golden Age, but the Stone Age. Gold can be easily shaped, but it is so soft that it cannot be used for weapons or tools. It does not rust or corrode, and, undoubtedly, it gleamed out from rocks or streambeds, catching the attention of humans in prehistoric times. Gold exists in an almost pure state in nature. Ironically, the first recognized metal, gold, is unchanging and nearly useless. Metals have shaped history-magnifying our efforts, providing leisure time, and creating empires-because metals allow us to shape our environment like no other materials. Metallurgy makes the current Information Age possible and continues to shape our lives. The ability of metals to alter the wealth, power, and culture of societies is so profound that the Bronze Age and the Iron Age label distinct eras in human development. Over a period of thousands of years, humans learned to identify, extract, blend, and shape metals into tools, ornaments, and weapons.
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