Changes

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.

The exact origins of iron smelting are debated. It is possible this occurred already by the mid-third millennium BCE in Anatolia (modern Turkey), where a Hattic weapon made of iron was found and appeared to have derived from a smelted source. By the mid-second millennium BCE, iron tools were increasingly found in Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. In fact, in the Late Bronze Age, from around 1400-1300 BCE, iron weapons are found in tombs. Some of the most famous are from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Although the gold and jewelry from his tomb are the most famous, the iron objects found have puzzled archaeologists. However, recent studies have shown that one of these weapons was made of meteoric iron, indicating that if iron smelting existed then it was very rare.