Editing Smelting (section)

===Copper and bronze===
{{see also|Copper extraction}}
[[File:Tiangong Kaiwu Tripod Casting.jpg|thumb|Casting bronze ding-tripods, from the Chinese ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' encyclopedia of [[Song Yingxing]], published in 1637]]
Copper was the first metal to be smelted.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McGeough |first1=Joseph |title=Early metals and smelting |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/hand-tool/Early-metals-and-smelting |website=Brittanica }}</ref> How the discovery came about is debated. Campfires are about 200&nbsp;°C short of the temperature needed, so some propose that the first smelting of copper may have occurred in pottery [[kiln]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Prehistory of Metallurgy in the British Isles|author=Tylecote, R. F.|date=1986|publisher=The Institute of Metals|publication-place=London|pages=16–17}}</ref> (The development of copper smelting in the Andes, which is believed to have occurred independently of the [[Old World]], may have occurred in the same way.<ref name="sciencedaily.com"/>)

The earliest current evidence of copper smelting, dating from between 5500&nbsp;BC and 5000&nbsp;BC, has been found in [[Pločnik]] and Belovode, Serbia.<ref name="stonepages">{{cite web|url=http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002557.html|title=Stone Pages Archaeo News: Ancient metal workshop found in Serbia|publisher=stonepages.com|access-date=26 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924110730/http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002557.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="archaeologydaily">{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201006274431/Belovode-site-in-Serbia-may-have-hosted-first-copper-makers.html|title=201006274431 &#124; Belovode site in Serbia may have hosted first copper makers|publisher=archaeologydaily.com|access-date=26 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229205002/http://www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201006274431/Belovode-site-in-Serbia-may-have-hosted-first-copper-makers.html|archive-date=29 February 2012}}</ref> A mace head found in Turkey and dated to 5000&nbsp;BC, once thought to be the oldest evidence, now appears to be hammered, native copper.<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=Ancient Turkey|author1=Sagona, A.G.|author2=Zimansky, P.E.|date=2009|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9780415481236|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHAlOAAACAAJ|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306062734/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QHAlOAAACAAJ|archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref>

Combining copper with tin or [[arsenic]] in the right proportions produces [[bronze]], an [[alloy]] that is significantly harder than copper. The first [[Arsenical bronze|copper/arsenic bronzes]] date from 4200&nbsp;BC from [[Asia Minor]]. The Inca bronze alloys were also of this type. Arsenic is often an impurity in copper ores, so the discovery could have been made by accident. Eventually, arsenic-bearing minerals were intentionally added during smelting.{{citation needed|date=May 2009}}

Copper–tin bronzes, harder and more durable, were developed around 3500&nbsp;BC, also in Asia Minor.<ref>{{Cite web|title=History of Bronze Infographic {{!}} About {{!}} Website {{!}} Makin Metal Powders (UK)|url=http://www.makin-metals.com/about/history-of-bronze-infographic/#:~:text=Around%203500%20BC%20the%20first,used%20to%20build%20campfire%20rings.|access-date=2021-02-23|website=www.makin-metals.com|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108125933/http://www.makin-metals.com/about/history-of-bronze-infographic/#:~:text=Around%203500%20BC%20the%20first,used%20to%20build%20campfire%20rings.|url-status=dead}}</ref>

How smiths learned to produce copper/tin bronzes is unknown. The first such bronzes may have been a lucky accident from tin-contaminated copper ores. However, by 2000&nbsp;BC, people were mining tin on purpose to produce bronze—which is remarkable as tin is a semi-rare metal, and even a rich [[cassiterite]] ore only has 5% tin.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The discovery of copper and bronze manufacture had a significant impact on the history of the [[Old World]]. Metals were hard enough to make weapons that were heavier, stronger, and more resistant to impact damage than wood, bone, or stone equivalents. For several millennia, bronze was the material of choice for weapons such as [[sword]]s, [[dagger]]s, [[battle axe]]s, and [[spear]] and [[arrow]] points, as well as protective gear such as [[shield]]s, [[helmet]]s, [[greave]]s (metal shin guards), and other [[body armor]]. Bronze also supplanted stone, wood, and organic materials in tools and household utensils—such as [[chisel]]s, [[saw]]s, [[adze]]s, [[Nail (fastener)|nail]]s, [[blade shears]], [[knife|knives]], [[sewing needle]]s and [[pin]]s, [[Jug (container)|jug]]s, [[cooking pot]]s and [[cauldron]]s, [[mirror]]s, and [[horse harness]]es.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} Tin and copper also contributed to the establishment of trade networks that spanned large areas of Europe and Asia and had a major effect on the distribution of wealth among individuals and nations.{{citation needed|date=May 2009}}