THE COPPER AGE (from 7,000 BC)
As far back as the Neolithic age over 9,000 years ago, communities began hammering copper nuggets into crude knives and sickles. The superior quality of copper tools as compared to widely used stone tools quickly gave rise to the first age of metallurgy - the age of copper.
THE BRONZE AGE (from 2,800 BC)
The accidental smelting of copper ore and tin ore, which can be found together in nature, may have provided the accidental next step forward in metallurgy - the development of bronze. The earliest evidence of bronze metals was found in Sumer, at Ur, from around 2,800 BC, and in Anatolia shortly afterwards.
THE IRON AGE (from 1,500 BC)
The next great development of metallurgy came about during 1,500 BC when technology advanced enough to smelt iron ore. Although iron is the most abundant metal in the earth's surface, it is much more difficult to work than copper or tin, given that its melting point is too high for primitive furnaces to extract in its pure form.
Travel through the Copper, Bronze, and Steel Ages with this set of 12 metal puzzles which celebrates the evolution of metallurgy throughout the ages. Each puzzle challenges you to detach two metal pieces and then link them back together again.
- Ages 14+
- Difficulty Rating 2-5
