The Heroic Journey of a Young Man and His Final Challenge

The foundation of a new world

With the birth of these early cities organized on a structure which reveals to be complex and with the spread of agriculture there comes the lay of the Foundation for a new world: the primitive stone age was drawing to an end. This significant change occurred with the introduction of metallurgy, i.e. the ability to shape and use the metal, which probably took place in the Middle East around 6,000 BC.

The rise of metallurgy

The first metal used was copper, available with a certain ease in their natural state and easy to be shaped or melted at room temperature. With copper there were produced all kinds of objects: containers, jugs, arrowheads, axes and various types of jewelry.
Copper is however a little resistant material; Therefore, an improvement in the use of metals occurred when it was discovered that by mixing copper (i.e., using a "League" of which elements), produced a much more durable material: bronze.

The discovery of bronze was another important milestone in human history, to the point that it gave its name to a new age: this new epoch began, for the more advanced peoples, around 3000 b.c. and lasted until the bronze metallurgy with iron, which ushered in the so-called "age of iron"starting around 1200 BC.

Specialization and luxury crafts

Metal working implies the presence of specialists, such as blacksmiths, who went then to enrich and diversify the various social functions.

In addition to the creation of everyday artifacts, in addition, at this stage the gradual spread of a luxury craft, such as the processing of gold and the manufacture of jewelry.