3 ms·

Trace amounts of iron are present almost every where on the planet, most of it is bound to other elements though. You can easily find small "lines" of it in str

Trace amounts of iron are present almost every where on the planet, most of it is bound to other elements though. You can easily find small "lines" of it in streams and river beds

bcrosby95 4y ago
Yep, and this was the initial benefit of iron despite bronze generally being better - you can find it anywhere, vs needing to source both copper and tin which tended to come from different, far flung places.
- aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
  But the Bronze Age preceded the Iron Age...
  - Lariscus 4y ago
    Bronze has a lower melting point compared to Iron making it much easier to work with. I think you also have to invent charcoal first to reach the temperatures necessary to melt iron ore.
    - pfdietz 4y ago
      Iron was originally produced without melting it at all. Instead, iron ore was reacted with reduced gases, and a flux (limestone) causes the silicate contaminants to melt instead. The solid iron that's obtained (sponge iron) is then forged into shape (and also beaten to remove residual silicates.)
      - mod 4y ago
        I googled it, and apparently we still do that, at least for some of the production.
        pfdietz 4y ago
        Yes, direct reduced iron (DRI). We may be moving back to it, too, when we move to green hydrogen as the reducing agent.
  - CydeWeys 4y ago
    But iron won out in the end. It's harder to process, but the result is better.