Editing Carbon group (section)

==History==
=== Discoveries and uses in antiquity ===
[[Carbon]], [[tin]], and [[lead]] are a few of the elements well known in the ancient world, together with [[sulfur]], [[iron]], [[copper]], [[mercury (element)|mercury]], [[silver]], and [[gold]].<ref>{{Citation|url = http://www.chemicalelements.com|title = Chemical Elements|access-date = 20 January 2013}}</ref>

Silicon as silica in the form of rock crystal was familiar to the predynastic Egyptians, who used it for beads and small vases; to the early Chinese; and probably to many others of the ancients. The manufacture of glass containing silica was carried out both by the Egyptians&nbsp;– at least as early as 1500 BCE&nbsp;– and by the [[Phoenicians]]. Many of the naturally occurring compounds or [[silicate minerals]] were used in various kinds of mortar for construction of dwellings by the earliest people.

The origins of tin seem to be lost in history. It appears that bronzes, which are alloys of copper and tin, were used by prehistoric man some time before the pure metal was isolated. Bronzes were common in early Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, Egypt, Crete, Israel, and Peru. Much of the tin used by the early Mediterranean peoples apparently came from the [[Scilly Isles]] and Cornwall in the British Isles,<ref>{{Citation|url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/596431/tin|title = Online Encyclopædia Britannica, Tin}}</ref> where mining of the metal dates from about 300–200 BCE. Tin mines were operating in both the Inca and Aztec areas of South and Central America before the Spanish conquest.

Lead is mentioned often in early Biblical accounts. The [[Babylonians]] used the metal as plates on which to record inscriptions. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] used it for tablets, water pipes, coins, and even cooking utensils; indeed, as a result of the last use, lead poisoning was recognized in the time of [[Augustus Caesar]]. The compound known as [[white lead]] was apparently prepared as a decorative pigment at least as early as 200 BCE.

===Modern discoveries===
[[amorphous silicon|Amorphous elemental silicon]] was first obtained pure in 1824 by the Swedish chemist [[Jöns Jacob Berzelius]]; impure silicon had already been obtained in 1811. [[crystalline silicon|Crystalline elemental silicon]] was not prepared until 1854, when it was obtained as a product of electrolysis.

Germanium is one of three elements the existence of which was predicted in 1869 by the Russian chemist [[Dmitri Mendeleev]] when he first devised his periodic table. However, the element was not actually discovered for some time. In September 1885, a miner discovered a mineral sample in a silver mine and gave it to the mine manager, who determined that it was a new mineral and sent the mineral to [[Clemens Winkler|Clemens A. Winkler]]. Winkler realized that the sample was 75% silver, 18% sulfur, and 7% of an undiscovered element. After several months, Winkler isolated the element and determined that it was element 32.<ref name = "Nature's Building Blocks"/>

The first attempt to discover flerovium (then referred to as "element 114") was in 1969, at the [[Joint Institute for Nuclear Research]], but it was unsuccessful. In 1977, researchers at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research bombarded [[plutonium-244]] atoms with [[calcium-48]], but were again unsuccessful. This nuclear reaction was repeated in 1998, this time successfully.<ref name = "Nature's Building Blocks"/>

===Etymologies===
*'''Carbon''' comes from the Latin word ''carbo'', meaning "charcoal".
*'''Silicon''' comes from the Latin word ''silex'' (or ''silicis''), meaning "flint".
*'''Germanium''' comes from the Latin word ''Germania'', the Latin name for Germany, which is the country where germanium was discovered.
*'''Stannum''' comes from the Latin word ''stannum'', meaning "tin", from or related to Celtic ''staen''.
::- The common name for stannum in English is ''tin'', inherited directly from [[Old English]]. Possibly of common origin with ''stannum'' and ''staen''.
*'''Plumbum''' comes from the Latin word ''plumbum'' meaning lead.
::- The common name for plumbum in English is ''lead'', inherited directly from Old English.<ref name="Nature's Building Blocks" />
*'''Flerovium''' was named after [[Georgy Flyorov]] and his Institute.