Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy

.	Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy	American Old West Metallurgy
.
Achievements	3300 BC. - Copper Age 2900 BC. - Steel: an iron tool from the masonry of the great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza, was subjected to chemical analysis and was found to contain combined carbon, which shows it was composed of steel. 2800 BC. - Mining in the Sinai 1900 BC. - Beni Hasan goldsmiths 1160 BC. - Turin Papyrus, world's earliest known geologic and topographic map 800 BC. - Iron mining and use (known in Asia Minor c.1300 BC.) 666 B.C. - The process of case-hardening was in use for the edges of iron tools.	Mining became one of the principal ventures in the American West, and large companies develped new technology and revolutionalized the industry as we know it today
Ownership of Mines	Metals were entirely monopolies of the State, the management of mines and quarries being entrusted to the highest officials and sometimes even to the sons of the Pharaoh, metallurgical practice were of extreme importance to the State and were carefully guarded from the vulgar.	In the mid 19th century California was a peculiarly lawless place, there was no civil legislature, executive or judicial body. In the mines there was no licensing fees and no taxes, the gold and metals were "free for the taking" Individual prospectors and mining companies
Main metal ores	Gold 1) Extracted from mines - called nub-en-set (gold of the mountain) 2) Extracted from alluvial auriferous sand - called nub-en-mu (gold of the river). Auriferous sand was placed in a bag made of a fleece with the woolly side inwards; water was then added and the bag vigorously shaken by two men. When the water was poured off, the earthy particles were carried away, leaving the heavier particles of the metal adhering to the fleece. Copper Galena was mined in Egypt at Gebel Rasas, a few miles from the Red Sea coast Lead, though it never found extensive application, was among the earliest metals known, specimen having been found in graves of Pre-Dynastic Period. Iron - was known in Egypt from the early Dynastic Period but there is no neat progression to an Iron Age, Egyptians took a long time to begin using iron extensively. It was not used for decorative, religious or symbolical purposes, due to the fact that it rusts. Metals such as tin was used in the manufacture of bronze, and cobalt has been detected as a coloring agent in certain specimens of glass and glaze. Neither metal occurs naturally in Egypt, and it seems probable that supplies of tin and cobalt ores were imported from Persia.	Gold -In 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill. As news of the discovery spread, some 300,000 people came to California "The California Gold Rush" Copper, zinc, borax, and coal
Techniques	Metallurgy was carried on with an elaborate technique, later adopted by Assyrians and Babylonians	Individuals were unable to afford large investments in technology and used wooden sluices Large companies adopted hydraulic mining, which used powerful water jets to break the earth.
Miners	The quarries employed slaves and forced labor, with a callous disregard for the human conditions	Some individual prospectors and companies made fortunes. Mining and human conditions were inadequate, but gradually improved
Settlements	Copper quarries were on the deserts of Sinai Gold was mined in the Eastern deserts of Nubia No permanent or important settlements emerged from this industry which was located in remote areas and employed forced labor	Mining settlements developed into towns and cities, one of the largest being San Francisco. In most cases when mining production declined, mines were abandoned producing numerous ghost towns, such as Ashcroft in Colorado.
Enviromental Effects	Deserts mines had no effect on Nile valley environment	Native Americans were attacked and pushed off traditional lands, and mining caused environmental harm, large amounts of gravel and silt, in addition to heavy metals and other pollutants, went into streams and rivers