Editing Lead (section)

=== Prehistory and early history ===
[[File:Lead production graph.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|World lead production peaking in the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] period and the [[Industrial Revolution]]{{sfn|Hong|Candelone|Patterson|Boutron|1994|pp=1841–1843}}|alt=A line chart generally growing to its right]]Metallic lead beads [[metals of antiquity|dating back to 7000–6500 BC]] have been found in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] and may represent the first example of metal [[smelting]].{{sfn|Rich|1994|p=4}} At that time, lead had few (if any) applications due to its softness and dull appearance.{{sfn|Rich|1994|p=4}} The major reason for the spread of lead production was its association with silver, which may be obtained by burning galena (a common lead mineral).{{sfn|Winder|1993b}} The [[Ancient Egypt]]ians were the first to use lead minerals in cosmetics, an application that spread to [[Ancient Greece]] and beyond;{{sfn|History of Cosmetics}} the Egyptians had used lead for sinkers in [[Fishing net|fishing nets]], [[Compacted oxide layer glaze|glazes]], [[Glass|glasses]], [[Vitreous enamel|enamels]], [[Ornament (art)|ornaments]].{{sfn|Winder|1993b}} Various civilizations of the [[Fertile Crescent]] used lead as a [[writing material]], as [[coin]]s,{{sfn|Chapurukha Kusimba|2017}} and as a [[List of building materials|construction material]].{{sfn|Winder|1993b}} Lead was used by the ancient Chinese as a [[stimulant]],{{sfn|Winder|1993b}} as [[currency]],{{sfn|Yu|Yu|2004|p=26}} as [[Birth control|contraceptive]],{{sfn|Toronto museum explores|2003}} and in [[chopsticks]].{{sfn|Neiburger|2018}} The [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Indus Valley civilization]] and the [[Mesoamerica]]ns used it for making [[Amulet|amulets]];{{sfn|Winder|1993b}} and the eastern and southern Africans used lead in [[wire drawing]].{{sfn|Bisson|Vogel|2000|p=105}}