The first evidence of humans taking an interest in metals is from about 40,000 BC, in which traces of gold were found in caves in Spain. As of 3000 BC, Egyptians began making weapons out of iron. Five hundred years later signified the beginning of metallurgy when humans discovered how to heat tin and copper and combine them to make bronze.

1200 BC signifies the beginning of the Iron Age when the Hittites learned how to extract iron from its ore. It appears as though the Philistines enjoyed great success as a culture, in large part due to their discovery as to how to extract and work iron.

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