From prehistoric times to ancient Egypt
The first iron people ever worked came from space.
The oldest iron objects known are made from meteorites. At Gerzeh in Egypt, archaeologists found tubular iron beads in a grave dated to around 3200 BC, some 2,000 years before the Iron Age began. Analyses published in 2013 showed the metal is rich in nickel, with the structure of a hammered iron meteorite.
Ancient Egyptian writing later used a word that has been translated as 'iron of the sky', suggesting the Egyptians knew exactly where this metal came from.
In North America, the Sinagua people of Arizona appear to have valued meteorites too. In 1928 a stony meteorite was dug up at Elden Pueblo near Flagstaff, buried in a stone box in the manner of a burial. It is now known as the Winona meteorite, and it gave its name to a whole group, the winonaites. Pieces of the Canyon Diablo iron, from the impact that made Meteor Crater about 50,000 years ago, have also been found at ancient sites in the region.
In the catalogue
- Canyon Diablo Iron, IAB-MG, United States, 1891 · 30 t
- Winona Winonaite, United States, 1928 · 24 kg