In the Stone Age, humans chipped off splinters from Flintstones with a hard stone and shaped them to make hand axes, spears, and arrow tips or sickles. They then observed that metal ran out of a greenish-blue stone in fire, which led to the creation of copper. In the Near East, copper and zinc were melted since the 4th century BC to make hard bronze, which became the most important material for tools, weapons, and jewellery. Bronze became known in Europe later. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age. Although iron was more difficult to make, it was harder than bronze.
