Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Tin sources and trade during antiquity
open-in-new
<p> <a href="/facts/Tin/obW9mqc3">Tin</a> is an essential <a href="/facts/Metal/PT8hNX6R">metal</a> in the creation of tin-<a href="/facts/Bronze/YCYCVIKt">bronzes</a>, and its acquisition was an important part of <a href="/facts/Ancient_history/P0fFQ8z5">ancient cultures</a> from the <a href="/facts/Bronze_Age/c09qWcTt">Bronze Age</a> onward. Its use began in the <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a> and the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a> around 3000 BC. Tin is a relatively rare element in the <a href="/facts/Crust_(geology)/FYG1kP4F">Earth's crust</a>, with about two <a href="/facts/Parts-per_notation/PozRuoLM">parts per million</a> (ppm), compared to <a href="/facts/Iron/QK1JYy8E">iron</a> with 50,000 ppm, <a href="/facts/Copper/I8PEE8oX">copper</a> with 70 ppm, <a href="/facts/Lead/EYljasJN">lead</a> with 16 ppm, <a href="/facts/Arsenic/k1c4f44D">arsenic</a> with 5 ppm, <a href="/facts/Silver/xXe41BGg">silver</a> with 0.1 ppm, and <a href="/facts/Gold/1znknojp">gold</a> with 0.005 ppm. Ancient sources of tin were therefore rare, and the metal usually had to be traded over very long distances to meet demand in areas which lacked tin deposits. </p><p>Known sources of tin in ancient times include the southeastern tin belt that runs from <a href="/facts/Yunnan/Q924cyfE">Yunnan</a> in <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">China</a> to the <a href="/facts/Malay_Peninsula/BrBger2u">Malay Peninsula</a>; <a href="/facts/Cornwall/9A3TftFP">Cornwall</a> and <a href="/facts/Devon/go3z9lDW">Devon</a> in <a href="/facts/Great_Britain/TNgGQRPj">Britain</a>; <a href="/facts/Brittany/XvquwmIg">Brittany</a> in <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>; the border between <a href="/facts/Germany/paluuWBX">Germany</a> and the <a href="/facts/Czech_Republic/vJYLD66Q">Czech Republic</a>; <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a>; <a href="/facts/Portugal/lYzwDQ63">Portugal</a>; <a href="/facts/Italy/tUf0PDYF">Italy</a>; and <a href="/facts/Central_Africa/ufJ003ex">central</a> and <a href="/facts/Southern_Africa/Ak6C1vgf">South Africa</a>. <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a> and <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> have been suggested as minor sources of tin, but the archaeological evidence is inconclusive. </p>