← All ancient topics
How did people discover metal?
Rocks that melted into tools
Put on your time-travel shoes and let's go back thousands of years to see how simple campfires unlocked shiny secrets hidden inside rocks!
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- 10,000 years ago
Pretty Green Rocks
People noticed colourful, shiny rocks sitting on the ground. They loved using these bright stones to make beads and art.
The big idea
Ancient people learned to melt special rocks in fires to squeeze out strong metal.
Fun facts
- ✨ Copper was the very first metal humans ever used to make tools!
- ✨ Gold is so soft that ancient people could test if it was real by gently biting it.
- ✨ Mixing melted copper and tin together creates bronze, which makes super tough tools.
Science words
- Ore — A rock that has metal hidden inside it.
- Smelting — Using very high heat to melt metal out of rocks.
- Mould — A hollow shape you pour liquid into so it cools into a tool.