For thousands of years, Man learned to collect, classify, extract, and blend the ores or stones in which it leads to the formation and the discovery of native metals that results to the existence of tools, ornaments, and weapons. This process called Metallurgy.
Metallurgy- came from the Greek word metallourg(ós) which means working in metals in which it refers to the process involved in the extraction of metals from their respective ores in their pure shape. In this connection, It is also the technique in which metals undergone heating process in order to get the certain desired shape.
Metallurgist- is person who works in metals. In the modern times, they called as the ‘’Metallurgical Engineer’’.
By making tools, ornaments and weapons it will undergone a various types of processes or techniques. These processes are:
1. Smelting – it is a process of extracting metals from the ore by heating the ore beyond its melting point.
2. Tempering – It is a process in which a hardened metal is heated to the specific temperature and cooled slowly down in order to make the metal tough.
3. Casting – It is a technique in which molten metals is poured into the molder in order to get the specific form.
4. Alloying – is a process in which two metals are combined and melted together to form specific material.
5. Hammering- this process needs to exert extreme force in order to get the desired shape and thin sheets.
6. Quenching- it refers to the process of extinguishing, removing, or diminishing a physical property such as heat or light.
Hence, these processes perform complex techniques and needs an ample resource such as ores, coals, fuels, and etc.
The Discovery of Metals (History)
· Native Metals- Approximately 5000 years B.C. Ancient Man began to discovered and used native metals such Copper, Gold, Silver and Meteoric Iron.
· Copper – Due to the man’s curiosity, around 4000 B.C. he discovered copper as the first metal in which it came from the blue and green stones.
· Bronze – By about 3000 B.C. Man found out that other ores can be smelted and yielded (lead, silver, antimony and tin) and some of these could be smelt with copper in which it leads to the discovery of Bronze. As a connection, the cast alloy of copper and tin resulted to discovery of bronze, a material that is better than copper and functional to human beings in the entire era of early civilization known as Bronze Age.
· Iron – in about 2000 B.C. The next great development in metallurgy involves with a metal that is most abundant in the earth's surface but in contrast it is more complex to work on compared to copper or tin and that metal called Iron. In order to produce Iron, It will first take a various complex steps such smelting, reheating, tempering, quenching, cooling and hammering. These methods of steel making are well mastered by the tribes of Chalybes in Armenian Highlands. Hence, this entire era known as Iron Age due to the fact that ancient human beings generally make use of Iron.
In summary, Metallurgy gives a tremendous impact towards the wealth, power, and culture of the Ancient Human Beings as well as in the present times.
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