2 THE AGE OF EXPLORATION Gold has been popular for thousands of years Chances are it was first discovered when someone noticed a shiny gold nugget Because gold does not corrode it became a symbol of power and immortality in many cultures Over the centuries people around the world learned how to work gold in various ways Gold is sometimes found within larger rock pieces or formations When a rock formation contains enough valuable material to make it worth mining and processing the rock the rock is called ore A process of heating and melting called smelting can be used to separate the gold from the rest of the rock The ancient Egyptians developed a process for smelting gold by 3600 BCE Egyptian goldsmiths built smelting furnaces and used blowpipes made from fire-resistant clay to heat them Throughout the ancient world people wore gold jewelry They developed techniques to take advantage of how easy gold is to work They beat gold into thin sheets called gold leaf They decorated surfaces with small granules of gold a technique called granulation They engraved gold carving designs into its surface They also molded pieces of gold Ancient Egyptians crafted gold into ornate objects including coffins for royal figures 11
The Challenge of Smelting Smelting is not as simple as heating a gold-bearing ore The ore must be heated to a very high temperature because gold melts at 1,943 degrees Fahrenheit 1,062 C 2 A closed insulated furnace allows a fire to reach that extreme temperature A quality fuel and the right amount of oxygen encourage high temperatures and the right chemical balance Traditionally the oxygen was regulated with a bellows a mechanical device that blows air into the fire A bellows has a one-way valve to draw in air from outside the furnace rather than circulating air within the furnace In the past determining and controlling the temperature inside the furnace was difficult Today modern methods use more advanced technology for consistent smelting into shapes With a technique called filigree gold is pulled into thin wires which are then twisted into different designs The Egyptians used this technique by 2500 BCE In ancient Rome gemstones with gold settings were popular In South America civilizations in what is now Peru also developed ways of working with gold Metalworkers used sheet gold to make objects such as crowns masks and jewelry They hammered the sheets of gold to form raised designs Eventually gold was also used as money People used gold coins in Asia Minor or modern Turkey and Armenia by the late 700s BCE At first these coins were made of electrum a naturally occurring mix of gold and silver In the 500s BCE the first pure gold coins with stamped images appeared These coins are attributed to King Croesus of Lydia He was so famous for his riches that the expression rich as Croesus came to refer to great wealth 1 Later other civilizations including the Greek and Roman Empires also began using gold coins 12
People also made gold into many other objects often with religious or political symbolism Kings used gold crowns and scepters Religious items such as ritual vessels masks and statues were made of gold In some ancient civilizations temples and tombs were decorated with gold Sometimes gold items were buried with the dead to show the deceased person’s status One famous example is the death mask of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen which is covered in gold leaf NEW WORLD DISCOVERIES As the demand for gold grew people went to extreme lengths to get it Explorer Christopher Columbus set sail in 1492 CE searching for a western route accessing the spices and gold of Asia He stumbled upon the Americas instead Soon Spanish conquistadors set out to conquer the New World They were not motivated exclusively by gold However finding riches was a factor along with the desire to spread religion As one conquistador wrote We came here to serve God and his majesty 13 Gold Teeth Gold has been used in dental work for more than 3,000 years The Etruscans who lived in what is now Italy may have been the first to use it in this way In the 600s BCE the Etruscans used gold wire to hold animal teeth in place of people’s missing teeth It is thought that some rich Etruscan women had teeth removed so they could be fitted with false gold teeth This was a display of status and wealth Gold may also have been used to fill cavities in ancient times Gold is easy to form into delicate shapes does not corrode and does not harm the body These qualities make it a good choice for fillings The first definite archaeological evidence for the use of gold as fillings is from a little more than 1,000 years ago Gold was used in dentistry until the late 1970s Some gold fillings are still used today although alternatives are more common
