Editing 9th millennium BC (section)

==Metallurgy==
[[Copper]] (Cu, 29) was originally found in [[native copper|raw surface lumps]] and first used in the Middle East. It was later extracted from ores such as [[malachite]].{{sfn|Bronowski|1973|p=125}} A copper pendant from Mesopotamia is dated 8700 BC.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hesse, Rayner W. |title=Jewelrymaking through History: an Encyclopedia |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |date=2007 |page=56 |isbn=978-03-13335-07-5}}</ref> The use of copper and, from the eighth millennium, [[lead]] (Pb, 82) was gradual – it could not become widespread until [[smelting|systematic processes]] had been developed for extraction of the metals from their ores; this did not happen until about the sixth millennium.{{sfn|Bronowski|1973|p=125}}