Talk:Metals of antiquity

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Arsenic and zinc[edit]

Technically, arsenic is not a metal, but a metalloid, or semi-metal. I think Zinc (which was also discovered in the 13th century) would be the first metal isolated. Jokem (talk) 23:29, 1 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Is there a source for metallic zinc so early? Although brass was well-known quite early on, this was calamine brass, formed by cementation from copper and zinc ore. Zinc, as it sublimes and also burns so easily, couldn't easily be isolated and captured in a solid metallic form. Andy Dingley (talk) 17:11, 3 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and it seems that it was in wide use from the first millennium BC, including in coinage (see Brass#History). Zinc may not have been isolated separately until later, but it's clear that in the form of brass it was indeed in use very much earlier than this article suggests, and it certainly needs a mention. Richard New Forest (talk) 10:33, 31 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

A 4th century BC vase from Taxila was made of brass containing 34% Zn, more than anything cementation can provide. According to A. K. Biswas, this is strong evidence that metallic Zn was known in India by this time. Double sharp (talk) 16:23, 4 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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Metals of antiquity in the bible[edit]

It is interesting to note that all six solid metals (that is, solid at room temperature) are mentioned in the same sentence in the bible, Numbers 31:22. (The context is the purification of pots and pans etc. taken from the spoils of war, so obviously mercury is irrelevant here). 5.144.48.81 (talk) 06:09, 11 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]