I also found it curious that the main sources of tin in ancient times don’t seem to coincide with the earliest known instances of bronze: [2]
- 4650 BC Balkans
- 3500 BC Mesopotamia
- 3300 BC Indus
- 3150 BC Egypt
- 3200 BC Aegean
- 2900 BC Gansu
Makes me wonder how early metallurgists discovered bronze. Maybe they worked with smaller local sources of tin? Or maybe this is just another gap in our knowledge of ancient history…
So you know a lot more about metals than I do. I wouldn't have caught that at all:
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (such as aluminium, manganese, nickel or zinc) and sometimes non-metals or metalloids such as arsenic, phosphorus or silicon. These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as strength, ductility, or machinability.
- 4650 BC Balkans
- 3500 BC Mesopotamia
- 3300 BC Indus
- 3150 BC Egypt
- 3200 BC Aegean
- 2900 BC Gansu
Makes me wonder how early metallurgists discovered bronze. Maybe they worked with smaller local sources of tin? Or maybe this is just another gap in our knowledge of ancient history…
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age