THE AGE OF METAL

Once man had learned to use stone he seemed content to stick with this single method of tool making for thousands of years. Stone was plentiful, relatively easy to work with, and seemed to satisfy his needs.

Finally, around 3500 B.C. man ventured into the Age of Metal. The first metal which he learned to work was copper. This metal is extremely soft, melts easily in a simple campfire and can be worked into tools with relative ease. Copper make tools of a poor quality. Because copper is soft (have you ever tried to bend copper electrical wire?) it will not hold an edge (stay sharp) for any length of time. Copper knives could be made, but the simple act of cutting animal flesh instantly dulled the blade and it had to be reformed. Copper was used to make jewelry, copper beads could easily be strung together to make a necklace. Copper was probable first discovered as beads which leaked out of rocks used to surround campfires. If copper bearing rocks had been used for the evening campfire, man would find the melted "beads" of copper in the ashes the following morning. Copper was superior to most stone tools, but still not dependable.

About 2500 B.C. man moved to the second Age of Metal, the Bronze Age. Bronze is not an element but rather an alloy being made of both copper and tin. Both metals are relatively soft is used alone, but when blended together they form a compound which is far more durable than either alone. Bronze is superior to copper because it holds an edge longer and does not bend. The drawback to bronze is that it is extremely brittle and breaks or cracks easily. Thus a bronze spear head will kill an animal if you strike it cleanly and not hit large bones. If you should strike bone, or hit a tree or rock, the spear head will crack or shatter and thus have to be remade.

Finally about 1200 B.C. man entered the final Age of Metal, the Iron Age. Of all the metals iron is vastly superior to any other. Iron does not bend like copper, nor crack like bronze. It will hold an edge for an indefinite period of time (think about the kitchen knife you have at home, how long does it stay sharp?). The only draw backs to iron are that it rusts and that it is extremely difficult to work with. Any of you can work copper and bronze in a simple fire you can build at home. This is because both metals have a low melting point. A simple wood fire will provide all the heat needed to melt either metal. No wood fire burns hot enough to melt iron. Thus early man needed to actually make a fire that was "hotter" than hot. This required an advance in technology. Not only did man have to know how to select hot burning woods, but he had to invent a method to make fire hotter. This task is accomplished by adding "air" to fire. Have you ever blown on a fire and watched the embers glow brighter and hotter? The infusion of air you provided actually made the fire hotter. The same principle is used to work iron. No, man did not gather in a circle and blow on a fire, instead he invented a bellows. By pumping the bellows air was added to the fire and iron could be worked.

Most early people did not have the knowledge to work iron. Those who did had an immediate military superiority to everyone else. Bronze weapons, struck against iron weapons would shatter on impact. Thus the secret of how to work the magic black metal was guarded very carefully. To understand the great value of iron consider this one example. One ancient king haggled for and managed to purchase a six inch iron knife from a merchant. He bragged to his countrymen that he had worked out a great deal, and ripped off the merchant who sold the knife so cheaply. What did this king actually pay for the six inch iron knife? Only HIS weight in gold. Now can you understand the value of iron to ancient man?