What is metallurgy?

​I thought metallurgy was just, metal smithing as in obtaining and using metal to make something.  After reading the Wikipedia page on metallurgy, I think I need to change the title page of this blog. Metallurgy is the ancient science and art of working with metals, but according to Wikipedia, it is a whole lot more than that. Did you know that you can earn a degree in metallurgy and that is is considered both a science and a technology? Me neither! It also involves engineering and chemistry, and a whole lot more than that. One interesting thing I learned on Wikipedia  is that "The earliest use of lead is documented from the late neolithic settlements of Yarim Tepe and Arpachiyah in Iraq. The artifacts suggest that lead smelting predated copper smelting." ("Metallurgy", 2023)

What? I thought I had found the earliest evidence of metallurgy. I was right (in my own mind) for one day.  I will have my slice of humble pie later today, thank you very much.

Metallurgy is different than metalworking and can be broken into two different scientific focuses, chemical and physical. Chemical metallurgy focuses on "reduction and oxidation of metals, and the chemical performance of metals" where physical metallurgy "focuses on the mechanical properties of metals, the physical properties of metals, and the physical performance of metals" . ("Metallurgy", 2023) You can see how both sciences would be important in archaeology since the processes and changes to metal artifacts can reveal important clues about the movement, manufacturing, procurement, chaîne opératoire, and ultimately about the people that used them. 

Metallurgy. (2023, November 18). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallurgy

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