Timeline of Chemical Elements Discoveries - Unrecorded Discoveries

Unrecorded Discoveries

Z Element Earliest use Oldest
existing
sample		 Discoverers Place of
oldest
sample		 Notes
29 Copper 9000 BC 6000 BC Middle East Anatolia Copper was probably the first metal mined and crafted by man. It was originally obtained as a native metal and later from the smelting of ores. Earliest estimates of the discovery of copper suggest around 9000 BC in the Middle East. It was one of the most important materials to humans throughout the copper and bronze ages. Copper beads dating from 6000 BC have been found in Çatal Höyük, Anatolia.
79 Gold Before 6000 BC 5500 BC Middle East Egypt Archaeologists suggest that the first use of gold began with the first civilizations in the Middle East. It may have been the first metal used by humans. The oldest remaining gold jewelry is that in the tomb of Egyptian Queen Zer.
82 Lead 7000 BC 3800 BC Near East Abydos, Egypt It is believed that lead smelting began at least 9,000 years ago, and the oldest known artifact of lead is a statuette found at the temple of Osiris on the site of Abydos dated circa 3800 BC.
47 Silver Before 5000 BC Circa 4000 BC Asia Minor Estimated to have been discovered shortly after copper and gold.
26 Iron Before 5000 BC 4000 BC Unknown; see History of ferrous metallurgy Egypt There is evidence that iron was known from before 5000 BC. The oldest known iron objects used by humans are some beads of meteoric iron, made in Egypt in about 4000 BC. The discovery of smelting around 3000 BC led to the start of the iron age around 1200 BC and the prominent use of iron for tools and weapons.
6 Carbon 3750 BC Egyptians and Sumerians The earliest known use of charcoal was for the reduction of copper, zinc, and tin ores in the manufacture of bronze, by the Egyptians and Sumerians. Diamonds were probably known as early as 2500 BC. The first true chemical analyses were made in the 18th century, and in 1789 carbon was listed by Antoine Lavoisier as an element.
50 Tin 3500 BC 2000 BC Unknown; see Tin#History First smelted in combination with copper around 3500 BC to produce bronze. The oldest artifacts date from around 2000 BC.
16 Sulfur Before 2000 BC Chinese/Indians First used at least 4,000 years ago. Recognized as an element by Antoine Lavoisier in 1777.
80 Mercury Before 2000 BC 1500 BC Chinese/Indians Egypt Known to ancient Chinese and Indians before 2000 BC, and found in Egyptian tombs dating from 1500 BC.
30 Zinc Before 1000 BC 1000 BC Indian metallurgists Indian subcontinent Extracted as a metal since antiquity (before 1000 BC) by Indian metallurgists, but the true nature of this metal was not understood in ancient times. Identified as a unique metal by the metallurgist Rasaratna Samuccaya in 800 and by the alchemist Paracelsus in 1526. Isolated by Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in 1746.
33 Arsenic 2500 BC/1250 AD Bronze age A. Magnus In use in the early bronze age; Albertus Magnus was the first European to isolate the element in 1250. In 1649, Johann Schröder published two ways of preparing elemental arsenic.
51 Antimony 3000 BC In widespread use in Egypt and the Middle East. Basilius Valentinus was the first European to describe the element around 1450. First description of a procedure for isolating elemental antimony in 1540 was by Vannoccio Biringuccio.
24 Chromium Before 1 AD Before 1 AD Terracotta Army China Found coating various weapons in China because of its high strength and corrosion resistance.
83 Bismuth 1753 C.F. Geoffroy Described in writings attributed to Basilius Valentinus around 1450. Definitively identified by Claude François Geoffroy in 1753.

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