How did mankind discover metal?
In: Technology
Before we were making iron and steel we were working copper and tin.
These are notable because they melt at temperatures you could achieve by accident in a bonfire.
While it happened long before recorded history so it’s hard to say for certain, metalworking was almost certainly discovered by accident when someone noticed that one of their fire rocks had melted into a lustrous puddle of molten tin.
Then it’s all trial and error – what other rocks can I melt? What if I make the fire bigger and hotter? What if I mix melted tin and melted copper?
Latest Answers