Note 35 — Chapter III · - RATIO OF HUMAN PROGRESS.

The researches of Beckmann have left a doubt upon the existence of a true bronze earlier than a knowledge of iron among the Greeks and Latins. He thinks electrum, mentioned in the Iliad, was a mixture of gold and silver (History of Inventions, Bohn’s ed., ii, 212); and that the stannum of the Romans, which consisted of silver and lead, was the same as the kassiteron of Homer (Ib., ii, 217). This word has usually been interpreted as tin. In commenting upon the composition called bronze, he remarks: “In my opinion the greater part of these things were made of stannum, properly so called, which by the admixture of the noble metals, and some difficulty of fusion, was rendered fitter for use than pure copper.” (Ib., ii, 213). These observations were limited to the nations of the Mediterranean, within whose areas tin was not produced. Axes, knives, razors, swords, daggers, and personal ornaments discovered in Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, and other parts of Northern Europe, have been found, on analysis, composed of copper and tin, and therefore fall under the strict definition of bronze. They were also found in relations indicating priority to iron.