Metals of antiquity
 | This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. These seven are the metals from which the modern world was forged; until the discovery of arsenic in the 13th century, these were the only known elemental metals, compared to the 86 known today.
Contents
Characteristics[edit]
Melting point[edit]
The metals of antiquity generally have low melting points, with iron being the exception.
- Mercury melts at −38.829 °C (-37.89 °F)[1] (being liquid at room temperature).
- Tin melts at 231 °C (449 °F)[1]
- Lead melts at 327 °C (621 °F)[1]
- Silver at 961 °C (1763 °F)[1]
- Gold at 1064 °C (1947 °F)[1]
- Copper at 1084 °C (1984 °F)[1]
- Iron is the outlier at 1538 °C (2800 °F),[1] making it essentially impossible to melt in antiquity.
Extraction[edit]
While all the metals of antiquity but tin and lead occur natively, only gold and silver are commonly found as the native metal.
- Gold and silver occur frequently in their native form
- Mercury compounds are reduced to elemental mercury simply by low-temperature heating (500 °C).
- Tin and iron occur as oxides and can be reduced with carbon monoxide (produced by, for example, burning charcoal) at 900 °C.
- Copper and lead compounds can be roasted to produce the oxides, which are then reduced with carbon monoxide at 900 °C.
Rarity[edit]
While widely known during antiquity, these metals are by no means common.
- Iron is the 4th (4.1% by mass)
- Copper is next at 26th (50ppm)
- Lead is 37th (14ppm)
- Tin is 49th (2.2ppm)
- Silver is 65th (70ppb)
- Mercury is 66th (50ppb)
- Gold is the 72nd (1.1ppb)
Yet all were known and available in tangible quantities in ancient times.
See also[edit]
Symbolism[edit]
Each of the metals was associated with one of the seven then-known celestial bodies, and one of the seven days of the week.[2]
| Metal | Body | Day of week |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Sun | Sunday |
| Silver | Moon | Monday |
| Iron | Mars | Tuesday |
| Mercury | Mercury | Wednesday |
| Tin | Jupiter | Thursday |
| Copper | Venus | Friday |
| Lead | Saturn | Saturday |
References[edit]
 | This article has an unclear citation style. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
- "History of Metals". Archived from the original on 2007-01-08.
- Nick Kollerstrom. "The Metal-Planet Affinities - The Sevenfold Pattern". Retrieved 2011-02-17.
Further reading[edit]
- http://www.webelements.com/ cited from these sources:
- A.M. James and M.P. Lord in Macmillan's Chemical and Physical Data, Macmillan, London, UK, 1992.
- G.W.C. Kaye and T.H. Laby in Tables of physical and chemical constants, Longman, London, UK, 15th edition, 1993.
