As an addendum to Peter's statement, "deliberate" alloys of Cu-Zn (i.e.
"brass" with 10-30% Zn) are recognized from the beginning of the first
millennium BCE in Anatolia, according the Craddock. Work that has been
done here in boston will be pushing the date back to at least the middle of
the second millennium BCE in Iran.
-"brass" or more specifically Roman brass (containing >30% Zn), to which
Peter was referring, begins around the Christian error.
Best,
Chris Thornton
>Brass seems to have been invented at around the beginning of the Christian
>era and was spread around by the Romans. Again alloys containing zinc have
>been found in antiquity, almost certainly made accidentally.
>
>The deliberate production of zinc in India and China seems to have begun in
>the 14th century or earlier- there are Chinese coins from 1402 which
>suggests that an appreciable quantity was available. It was imported into
>Europe in the 16th century under various names.
>
>Peter Hutchison
>
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