Ancient history​[​edit​]

Early humans​[​edit​]
A 100,000-year-old ​ochre​-processing workshop was found at ​Blombos Cave​ in ​South Africa​. It indicates that
early humans had an elementary knowledge of chemistry. Paintings drawn by early humans consisting of early
humans mixing animal blood with other liquids found on cave walls also indicate a small knowledge of
chemistry.​[2]​[3]

Early metallurgy​[​edit​]
​ istory of ferrous metallurgy​ and ​History of metallurgy in the Indian subcontinent
Main articles: H
The earliest recorded metal employed by humans seems to be ​gold​, which can be found free or "native". Small
amounts of natural gold have been found in Spanish caves used during the late ​Paleolithic​ period, around
40,000 BC.​[4]
Silver​, ​copper​, ​tin​ and ​meteoric iron​ can also be found native, allowing a limited amount of ​metalworking​ in
ancient cultures.​[5]​ Egyptian weapons made from meteoric iron in about 3000 BC were highly prized as "daggers
from Heaven".​[6]
Arguably the first chemical reaction used in a controlled manner was ​fire​. However, for millennia fire was seen
simply as a mystical force that could transform one substance into another (burning wood, or boiling water) while
producing heat and light. Fire affected many aspects of early societies. These ranged from the simplest facets of
everyday life, such as cooking and habitat heating and lighting, to more advanced uses, such as for making
pottery and bricks and melting of metals to make tools.
It was fire that led to the discovery of ​glass​ and the ​purification​ of metals; this was followed by the rise of
metallurgy​.[7]​
​ During the early stages of metallurgy, methods of purification of metals were sought, and gold,
known in ​ancient Egypt​ as early as 2900 BC, became a precious metal.

Bronze Age​[​edit​]
​ ronze Age
Main article: B
Certain metals can be recovered from their ores by simply heating the rocks in a fire: notably ​tin​, ​lead​ and (at a
higher temperature) copper. This process is known as ​smelting​. The first evidence of this extractive metallurgy
dates from the 6th and 5th millennia BC, and was found in the archaeological sites of ​Majdanpek​, ​Yarmovac​ and
Plocnik​, all three in ​Serbia​. To date, the earliest copper smelting is found at the Belovode site;​[8]​ these examples
include a copper axe from 5500 BC belonging to the ​Vinča culture​.[9]​​ Other signs of early metals are found from
the third millennium BC in places like ​Palmela​ (Portugal), ​Los Millares​ (Spain), and ​Stonehenge​ (United
Kingdom). However, as often happens in the study of ​prehistoric​ times, the ultimate beginnings cannot be clearly
defined and new discoveries are ongoing.
 Mining areas of the ancient Middle East. Boxes colors: ​arsenic​ is in brown, ​copper​ in red, ​tin​ in grey, iron in reddish
brown, gold in yellow, silver in white and ​lead​ in black. Yellow area stands for ​arsenic bronze​, while grey area stands for
tin ​bronze​.

These first metals were single elements, or else combinations as naturally occurred. By combining copper and
tin, a superior metal could be made, an ​alloy​ called ​bronze​. This was a major technological shift which began the
Bronze Age​ about 3500 BC. The Bronze Age was a period in human cultural development when the most
advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) included techniques for smelting ​copper​ and
tin​ from naturally occurring outcroppings of copper ores, and then smelting those ores to cast bronze. These
naturally occurring ores typically included arsenic as a common impurity. Copper/tin ores are rare, as reflected in
the absence of tin bronzes in ​western Asia​ before 3000 BC.
After the Bronze Age, the history of metallurgy was marked by armies seeking better weaponry. States in
Eurasia​ prospered when they made the superior alloys, which, in turn, made better armor and better
[​citation needed]​ ​ [10]
weapons.​ Significant progress in metallurgy and alchemy was made in ​ancient India​.​

Iron Age​[​edit​]
Main article: I​ ron Age
The extraction of ​iron​ from its ore into a workable metal is much more difficult than copper or tin. While iron is not
better suited for tools than bronze (until ​steel​ was discovered), iron ore is much more abundant and common
than either copper or tin, and therefore more often available locally, with no need to trade for it.
Iron working appears to have been invented by the ​Hittites​ in about 1200 BC, beginning the ​Iron Age​. The secret
[6]​[11]
of extracting and working iron was a key factor in the success of the ​Philistines​.​
The Iron Age refers to the advent of iron working (​ferrous metallurgy​). Historical developments in ferrous
metallurgy can be found in a wide variety of past cultures and civilizations. These include the ancient and
medieval kingdoms and empires of the Middle East and Near East, ​ancient Iran​, ​ancient Egypt​, ancient ​Nubia​,
and ​Anatolia​ (Turkey), ​Ancient Nok​, ​Carthage​, the ​Greeks​ and ​Romans​ of ancient Europe, medieval Europe,
ancient and medieval China, ancient and medieval India, ancient and medieval Japan, amongst others. Many
applications, practices, and devices associated with or involved in metallurgy were established in ancient China,
such as the innovation of the ​blast furnace​, ​cast iron​, ​hydraulic​-powered ​trip hammers​, and double-acting piston
[12]​[13]
bellows​.​

Classical antiquity and atomism​[​edit​]

​ tomism
Main article: A

Democritus​, Greek philosopher of atomistic school.

Philosophical attempts to rationalize why different substances have different properties (color, density, smell),
exist in different states (gaseous, liquid, and solid), and react in a different manner when exposed to
environments, for example to water or fire or temperature changes, led ancient philosophers to postulate the first
theories on nature and chemistry. The history of such philosophical theories that relate to chemistry can
probably be traced back to every single ancient civilization. The common aspect in all these theories was the
attempt to identify a small number of primary ​classical elements​ that make up all the various substances in
nature. Substances like air, water, and soil/earth, energy forms, such as fire and light, and more abstract
concepts such as thoughts, ​aether​, and heaven, were common in ancient civilizations even in the absence of
any cross-fertilization: for example ancient Greek, Indian, Mayan, and Chinese philosophies all considered ​air​,
water​, ​earth​ and ​fire​ as primary elements.​[​citation needed]​

Ancient world​[​edit​]

Around 420 BC, ​Empedocles​ stated that all matter is made up of ​four elemental substances​: earth, fire, air and
[14]​
water. The early theory of ​atomism​ can be traced back to ​ancient Greece​ and ​ancient India​.​ Greek atomism
dates back to the Greek philosopher ​Democritus​, who declared that matter is composed of indivisible and
indestructible particles called "atomos" around 380 BC. ​Leucippus​ also declared that atoms were the most
indivisible part of matter. This coincided with a similar declaration by ​Indian​ philosopher ​Kanada​ in his
[14]​
Vaisheshika​ ​sutras​ around the same time period.​ In much the same fashion he discussed the existence of
gases​. What Kanada declared by sutra, Democritus declared by philosophical musing. Both suffered from a lack
of ​empirical​ data. Without scientific proof, the existence of atoms was easy to deny. ​Aristotle​ opposed the
existence of atoms in 330 BC. Earlier, in 380 BC, a Greek text attributed to ​Polybus​ argued that the human body
is composed of four ​humours​. Around 300 BC, ​Epicurus​ postulated a universe of indestructible atoms in which
man himself is responsible for achieving a balanced life.
With the goal of explaining ​Epicurean philosophy​ to a Roman audience, the ​Roman​ poet and philosopher
Lucretius​[15]​ wrote ​De rerum natura​ (The Nature of Things)​[16]​ in 50 BC. In the work, Lucretius presents the
principles of ​atomism​; the nature of the ​mind​ and ​soul​; explanations of ​sensation​ and thought; the development
of the world and its phenomena; and explains a variety of ​celestial​ and ​terrestrial​ phenomena.
Much of the early development of purification methods is described by ​Pliny the Elder​ in his ​Naturalis Historia​.
He tried to explain those methods, as well as making acute observations of the state of many minerals.

Medieval alchemy​[​edit​]
​ inima naturalia
See also: M

15th-century artistic impression of ​Jābir ibn Hayyān​ (Geber), a ​Perso-Arab alchemist​ and pioneer in ​organic chemistry​.
 Seventeenth-century alchemical emblem showing the four Classical elements in the corners of the image, alongside the
tria prima on the central triangle.

The elemental system used in medieval ​alchemy​ was developed primarily by the ​Persian​-​Arab​ alchemist ​Jābir
ibn Hayyān​ and was rooted in the classical elements of Greek tradition.​[17]​ His system consisted of the four
Aristotelian elements of air, earth, fire, and water in addition to two philosophical elements: ​sulphur​,
characterizing the principle of combustibility, "the stone which burns"; and ​mercury​, characterizing the principle
of metallic properties. They were seen by early alchemists as idealized expressions of irreducible components of
the ​universe​[18]​ and are of larger consideration​[​clarification needed]​ ​ within philosophical alchemy.
The three metallic principles (sulphur to flammability or combustion, mercury to volatility and stability, and ​salt​ to
solidity) became the ​tria prima​ of the Swiss alchemist ​Paracelsus​. He reasoned that Aristotle's four-element
theory appeared in bodies as three principles. Paracelsus saw these principles as fundamental and justified
them by recourse to the description of how wood burns in fire. Mercury included the cohesive principle, so that
when it left the wood (in smoke) the wood fell apart. Smoke described the volatility (the mercurial principle), the
heat-giving flames described flammability (sulphur), and the remnant ash described solidity (salt).​[19]

The philosopher's stone​[​edit​]

​ lchemy
Main article: A

"The Alchemist", by Sir William Douglas, 1855

Alchemy is defined by the ​Hermetic​ quest for the ​philosopher's stone​, the study of which is steeped in symbolic
mysticism, and differs greatly from modern science. Alchemists toiled to make transformations on an ​esoteric
 [20]​
(spiritual) and/or ​exoteric​ (practical) level.​ It was the ​protoscientific​, exoteric aspects of alchemy that
contributed heavily to the evolution of chemistry in ​Greco-Roman Egypt​, in the ​Islamic Golden Age​, and then in
Europe. Alchemy and chemistry share an interest in the composition and properties of matter, and until the 18th
century they were not separate disciplines. The term ​chymistry​ has been used to describe the blend of alchemy
[21]
and chemistry that existed before that time.​
The earliest Western alchemists, who lived in the first centuries of the common era, invented chemical
apparatus. The ​bain-marie​, or water bath, is named for ​Mary the Jewess​. Her work also gives the first
[22]​
descriptions of the ​tribikos​ and ​kerotakis​.​ ​Cleopatra the Alchemist​ described furnaces and has been credited
[23]​
with the invention of the ​alembic​.​ Later, the experimental framework established by ​Jabir ibn Hayyan
influenced alchemists as the discipline migrated through the ​Islamic world​, then to Europe in the 12th century
CE.
During the Renaissance, exoteric alchemy remained popular in the form of ​Paracelsian​ ​iatrochemistry​, while
spiritual alchemy flourished, realigned to its ​Platonic​, Hermetic, and ​Gnostic​ roots. Consequently, the symbolic
quest for the philosopher's stone was not superseded by scientific advances, and was still the domain of
respected scientists and doctors until the early 18th century. Early modern alchemists who are renowned for
their scientific contributions include ​Jan Baptist van Helmont​, ​Robert Boyle​, and ​Isaac Newton​.

Alchemy in the Islamic world​[​edit​]

​ lchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam
Main article: A
In the ​Islamic World​, the ​Muslims​ were translating the works of ancient ​Greek​ and ​Hellenistic​ philosophers into
Arabic and were experimenting with scientific ideas.​[24]​ The development of the modern ​scientific method​ was
slow and arduous, but an early scientific method for chemistry began emerging among early Muslim chemists,
beginning with the 9th century Perso-Arab chemist ​Jābir ibn Hayyān​, popularly known as "the father of
chemistry". The Arabic works attributed to him introduced a systematic classification of chemical substances,
and provided instructions for deriving an inorganic compound (​sal ammoniac​ or ​ammonium chloride​) from
organic substances​ (such as plants, blood, and hair) by chemical means.​[25]​ Some Arabic Jabirian works (e.g.,
the "Book of Mercy", and the "Book of Seventy") were later translated into Latin under the ​Latinized​ name
[26]​
"Geber",​ and in 13th-century Europe an anonymous writer, usually referred to as ​pseudo-Geber​, started to
produce alchemical and metallurgical writings under this name.​[27]​ Later influential Muslim philosophers, such as
Abū al-Rayhān al-Bīrūnī​[28]​ and ​Avicenna​[29]​ disputed the theories of alchemy, particularly the theory of the
transmutation of metals​.
Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī​ described a version of the ​conservation of mass​, noting that a body of ​matter​ is able to
[30]​
change but is not able to disappear.​ ​Rhazes​ refuted ​Aristotle​'s theory of four ​classical elements​ for the first
time and set up the firm foundations of modern chemistry, using the laboratory in the modern sense, designing
and describing more than twenty instruments, many parts of which are still in use today, such as a ​crucible​,
cucurbit or ​retort​ for distillation, and the head of a still with a delivery tube (ambiq, Latin alembic), and various
types of furnace or stove.​[​citation needed]​

Problems encountered with alchemy​[​edit​]

There were several problems with alchemy, as seen from today's standpoint. There was no systematic naming
scheme for new compounds, and the language was esoteric and vague to the point that the terminologies meant
different things to different people. In fact, according to ​The Fontana History of Chemistry​ (Brock, 1992):

The language of alchemy soon developed an arcane and secretive technical vocabulary designed to conceal
information from the uninitiated. To a large degree, this language is incomprehensible to us today, though it is
apparent that readers of ​Geoffery Chaucer​'s ​Canon's Yeoman's Tale​ or audiences of ​Ben Jonson​'s ​The
[31]
Alchemist​ were able to construe it sufficiently to laugh at it.​
Chaucer's tale exposed the more fraudulent side of alchemy, especially the manufacture of counterfeit gold from
cheap substances. Less than a century earlier, ​Dante Alighieri​ also demonstrated an awareness of this
fraudulence, causing him to consign all alchemists to the ​Inferno​ in his writings. Soon afterwards, in 1317, the
Avignon​ ​Pope John XXII​ ordered all alchemists to leave France for making counterfeit money. A law was passed
in England in 1403 which made the "multiplication of metals" punishable by death. Despite these and other
apparently extreme measures, alchemy did not die. Royalty and privileged classes still sought to discover the
[32]
philosopher's stone and the elixir of life for themselves.​
There was also no agreed-upon scientific method for making experiments reproducible. Indeed, many
alchemists included in their methods irrelevant information such as the timing of the tides or the phases of the
moon. The esoteric nature and codified vocabulary of alchemy appeared to be more useful in concealing the fact
that they could not be sure of very much at all. As early as the 14th century, cracks seemed to grow in the
[​citation needed]​ ​
facade of alchemy; and people became sceptical.​ Clearly, there needed to be a scientific method in
which experiments could be repeated by other people, and results needed to be reported in a clear language
that laid out both what was known and what was unknown.