i'm stumped on this one. easy points to first/best answer.
2006-09-11 16:45:41 · 4 answers · asked by public_spirited 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
I like spiritual and zee's answers. I would pick both of you but i can only pick one. thanks for the help!
2006-09-11 17:08:28 · update #1
Copper was supposedly the first metal to be worked by man.
additon - sorry iron came later. Copper and then tin to make bronze. Iron came later and from that came steel.
By the way, what did you mean by "worked"? "Worked" as in used to make tools and weapons? Because if not, there is a case that gold and/or silver might be the first metals "worked" by man. They occurred in a natural state; requiring no further smelting. They were soft and could be made into jewelry.
2006-09-11 16:49:22 · answer #1 · answered by Spiritual but not religious 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Copper and a natural alloy, bronze, where copper and tin occurred together, and gold. Possibly iron. Gold, and nickel-iron meteorites are the only metals that occur naturally on Earth without smelting. Copper and bronze could have been smelted accidentally by lighting a wood fire on an outcrop of the ore. Then later, iron smelting was discovered.
2006-09-12 00:04:52 · answer #2 · answered by zee_prime 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Iron
2006-09-11 23:48:53 · answer #3 · answered by Bethany 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Copper. It occurs naturally in metallic form, and is fairly common.
2006-09-11 23:49:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋