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Isn't basically all iron from the bronze age meteoric? There isn't much telluric iron metal in the world, and smelting iron ore doesn't happen much until the d
by Telemakhos 3y ago
Isn't basically all iron from the bronze age meteoric? There isn't much telluric iron metal in the world, and smelting iron ore doesn't happen much until the drum roll iron age. If you're a bronze age craftsman looking to make something of iron (why, when you have bronze?), your best (practically only) source is meteoric iron.
- mcpackieh 3y agoThe catch is that the iron age happened at different times in different places. When that Egyptian dagger was likely made, people were already smelting iron in India and sub-Saharan Africa. Chemical analysis can rule that out though, lots of nickel and very little carbon indicate that it came from a meteorite.
- rustymonday 3y agoNo. Iron has been smelted in Anatolia since 2500 BC. It was initially believe that this iron must have been meteoric, but isotonic analysis done in the last few decades has shown that much of this early iron is in fact non-meteoric.