Early Metal Mining and Production

Abstract

This text is a comprehensive account of the development of extractive metallurgy from its inception to the Industrial Revolution. Drawing on information gained through state-of-the-art archaeological sampling methods, the secrets of early mining and smelting techniques are revealed, as well as the dramatic technological developments that transformed those processes in the 16th-19th centuries. Integrating documentary evidence with metallurgical study and new information from archaeological excavations in Europe, India, Iran, North America and China, this work offers a full history of mining and metal production worldwide.