What is the Deep Impact of Ferrous Metallurgy

Metals have made a deep impact on ancient and modern societies. Copper was the first metal to be exploited, as it melts at relatively low temperatures and can be easily molded into tools, jewelry, or weapons. However, the metal can easily bend, is brittle, and can break easily. In the ancient Near East, by the late 2nd millennium BCE, by around 1400-1300 BCE, the process of smelting and making iron tools developed. While iron could be obtained from natural sources, such as meteoric iron, these sources are limited and cannot be used to create many tools or weapons. The innovation of iron smelting opened many new possibilities for the ancient and modern worlds, forever changing how our own societies today have evolved.