Around 4,500 years ago, metallic iron
used by man was found in natura in meteorites collected
by nomad tribes in the deserts of Asia Minor. There are
also indications of occurrence and use of this metallic
material in regions such as, for example, Greenland. For
its beauty, maleability and difficult obtention, it was
considered a precious metal used mainly for decorative
purposes.
Many support the theory that men discovered iron in the
Neolithic Age, between 6,000 to 4,000 B.C. It appeared
by chance, when pieces of iron ore were used to protect
a fire and, after heated, they started to shine. This
phenomenon, today, is easy to explain: the heat from the
fire had melted and broken the pieces.
The use of iron in this period was always accidental and
the example above is a good one of this situation. Although
rare, there were times when the material was also found
in its natural state – case of some meteorites (rocky
bodies composed of various ores, including iron, which
fly about in space and naturally fall on Earth). As it
came from space, many peoples considered iron a gift from
the gods.
Little by little, iron came to be used more often, since
it was discovered how to extract it from its ore. Regular
exploitation began around 1,500 B.C., probably in the
Middle East, from where the metal would have been imported
by Assyrians and Phoenicians. As from the first century
of the Christian Era, iron earned its way all around the
Mediterranean.
