Why didn't the Incan Empire use iron?
score:32
Accepted answer
Iron is not "mined" in its native form. The ores of iron, such as hematite, are oxides which are plentiful and can even be collected right off the surface of the earth with no mining involved at all. I myself have collected hematite and magnetite from stream beds right near where I live.
The difficulty in making iron is that it must be reduced from its oxide.
Obtaining copper and silver is much easier because these metals can be recovered from sulfates which only need to be roasted.
The American Indians failed to discover and exploit the technology of charcoal reduction of iron oxide.
Upvote:11
The reason is the same for which the Bronze Age existed in Europe and elsewhere. People knew how to make copper and bronze but did not know how to make iron. So there is nothing special about Americans in general and Peruvians in particular. They just did not discover the process. But I suppose they knew about meteoric iron.
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