2006-11-02 22:48:08 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
Almost certainly copper, which can be found as the native metal, and in ores which are so easily smelted that they could have been discovered accidentally. Wikipedia suggests 7500 BC, compared to 4000 BC for silver and gold, and noticeably later for iron.
You could get an argument from somebody about carbon, because charcoal was being used for painting and decorating caves at least 30,000 years ago, and it's not got a lot of impurities compared with pure carbon.
2006-11-03 06:24:28 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They were really keen on wate, fire, air and earth. But those aren't elements in the sense we understand them today.
Carbon (in the form of charcoal), gold, silver and copper have been known in their pure (elemental) forms since ancient times.
Arsenic is the first element to be recorded as "being discovered" by Albertus Magnus.
2006-11-02 22:55:04 · answer #2 · answered by snoomoo 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Water and air.. bt we never know if they were reconginzed as elements then. even for metals..they should have been using iron, copper, brass and gold without knowing..all about it for quite some time.
2006-11-02 22:59:20 · answer #3 · answered by juljulabie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
air
if you mean chemical elements copper and iron
2006-11-02 22:52:37 · answer #4 · answered by raj 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
water earth and fire and they found out about air later
2006-11-02 22:55:59 · answer #5 · answered by String of pearls 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋