Metals of antiquity

The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times in Africa, Europe and throughout Asia:^[1] gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. These seven are the metals from which the classical world was forged.

Zinc, arsenic, and antimony were also known during antiquity, but they were not recognised as distinct metals until later.^[2][3][4][5] A special case is platinum; it was known to native South Americans around the time Europe was going through classical antiquity, but was unknown to Europeans until the 18th century. Thus, at most eleven elemental metals and metalloids were known by the end of antiquity; this contrasts greatly with the situation today, with over 90 elemental metals known. Bismuth only began to be recognised as distinct around 1500 by the European and Incan civilisations. The first elemental metal with a clearly identifiable discoverer is cobalt, discovered in 1735 by Georg Brandt, by which time the Scientific Revolution was in full swing.^[6] (Even then, cobalt might have been prepared before the 13th century by alchemists roasting and reducing its ore, but in any case its distinct nature was not recognised.)^[7]