Ancient weapons made of meteorite iron have been discovered in China
In the Chinese province of Sichuan, archaeologists have uncovered thousands of ritual objects during years of excavations. Among them were bronze masks with bulging eyes, tools made of ivory and jade, as well as statuettes whose purpose remains a subject of debate.
However, one object stood out significantly from the rest. Scientists have described it as the oldest known Bronze Age artifact made of meteoritic iron.
"Embedded vertically in the southern wall of the pit, the axe-shaped artifact, approximately 20 centimeters long, had lain there for three millennia before archaeologists carefully extracted it along with the surrounding soil and transported it to the laboratory,” the article stated.
An analysis published in the journal *Archaeological Research in Asia* showed that this object was not made from any metal that the inhabitants of the Sanxindui culture of that time could have produced on their own. Thus, it can be concluded that it came from space.
Scientists determined that the artifact consists of 90 percent iron by weight, contains 7.41 percent nickel, and trace elements. The nickel is evenly distributed throughout the object.
"Further laboratory analysis using electron microscopy confirmed a nickel content of approximately 20 percent, which significantly exceeds the average of about 11 percent observed in other Chinese meteoritic iron finds," the study explained.
According to the scientists, it would have been very difficult to reproduce such uniformity using the metalworking methods available during the late Shang Dynasty, and the metal’s granular structure indicates very slow cooling, which occurs in space rather than on Earth’s surface.
It is known that bronze was the dominant metal during that era. Chinese smiths had perfected this alloy of copper and tin to an extraordinary degree by the time of the Sanxingdui flourishing—approximately 1600–1050 B.C.
“Iron smelting did not become widespread in China until around 800 B.C. It was only then that the technology necessary to reach the required temperatures became available,” the article added.
Thus, the team led by Haichao Li of Sichuan University described the find as “the oldest Bronze Age meteorite iron artifact discovered in southwestern China,” which “fills a critical gap in the region’s metallurgical records and provides new insights into the early use of iron at both the regional and global levels.”
This was reported by the Daily Galaxy.
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