4. Describe and give the effects of smelting. What effect did this have on trade?

Return to *History 8 The End of the Stone Age Video Notes

Smelting is a process by which a pure metal is obtained from an ore. The later inhabitants of the Stone Age first smelted green malachite, an effort that produced copper. Smelting was achieved by digging a small pit, excavating a groove for bellows, lighting a fire in the pit, adding charcoal, dropping crushed ore onto the coals, inserting the bellows, sealing the pit with turf, and heating the pit with the bellows for several hours. The discovery of this technique had an immense effect on trade; suddenly, certain groups could produce rare high-quality tools and ornaments that could be shipped for huge distances without deteriorating. Copper and later bronze goods have been discovered deserts away from the nearest source of green malachite, providing strong evidence for lengthening trade routes. Because of the greater distances traveled, traders needed to become more organized than every before.

Sources:

Image: [[1]]

Information: [[2]] and End of the Stone Age video

Mark Trautner