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6000 BCE
Discovery of Gold
Man discovered how fashion gold into jewellery. -
5000 BCE
Man Began Using Native Metals
Man first started using native metals like gold silver and copper. Native metals are metals that aren't very reactive and are more likely to be found in their natural state. -
4200 BCE
Discovery of Copper
Man first started to smelt copper into various tools. -
4000 BCE
Discovery of Silver
Man started to fashion silver into jewellery and coins. -
3500 BCE
Discovery of Lead
Man first began smelting lead. -
Period: 3000 BCE to 1000 BCE
Bronze Age
Bronze first alloy created (Copper 88% and Tin 12%), it was the replacement of copper. It lead to the development of culture as more metal tools were used in everyday life. These tools were often weapons and played a large role in warfare at the time. -
1750 BCE
Discovery of Tin
Man began smelting tin with copper to create bronze. -
1500 BCE
Discovery of Iron
Man first began smelting iron, lead to the iron age around 1200-1000 BC. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 1 BCE
Iron Age
Iron and its alloys replaced Bronze as the most used metal from about 1000 BC to 1 BC. It was harder and more durable than Bronze when alloyed with carbon (steel) so it spread throughout society relativity quickly. -
Period: 1 CE to
Modern Age
The period of time when large scale production of metals and their alloys took off. Closer to present times many revolutionary technologies were produced which allowed for wide spread use of various metals. -
Period: to
Industrial Revolution
Massive outbreak in technology. Lead to factory production and new uses for metals. Metals manufactured in the factory'a were more common than those handcrafted and become more common in society. -
Discovery of Aluminium
First thought to have existed in 1787, there was no way to extract it until 1825. -
First use of the Froth Floatation Extraction Method.
Froth Floatation was used for the first time in Australia to extract zinc. -
Period: to
World War One
Conflict lead to industrial development. -
Period: to
World War Two
Conflict lead to many industrial development. An example being the aluminum alloys used in aircrafts.