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→Early Use of Gold
In the southern Levant, a cave in the area of Nahal Qanah contained eight artifacts from a burial context that suggests a type of elite burial ground could have been established. In fact, the find suggests gold could have already become the privy of the most elite in society.<ref>For more information about the Nahal Qanah cave, see: Gopher, Avi, Tseviḳah Tsuḳ, and I. Carmi. 1996. The Naḥal Qanah Cave: Earliest Gold in the Southern Levant. Monograph Series / Tel Aviv University, Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, no. 12. Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University Publications Section.</ref>
In Egypt and Mesopotamia, the two main regions where early urban cultures developed, gold was also used by the 4th millennium BC. In Egypt, mining was likely already taking place in areas where gold deposits were found, particularly probably in areas of southern Egypt or even Nubia. <ref>For more information about gold mining and gold in Egypt, see: Klemm, Rosemarie, and Dietrich Klemm. 2013. Gold and Gold Mining in Ancient Egypt and Nubia: Geoarchaeology of the Wadi Hammamat region Ancient Gold Mining Sites in southern Egyptthe Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Deserts. 2012. New York: Springer. </ref> In Mesopotamia, we begin to get references to gold in texts by the 3rd millennium BC, showing it becoming an important object for imports. However, in many cases, where gold has been discovered, it was found as an alloy with silver (i.e., electrum). At times, gold was also alloyed with lead, indicating that pure gold was generally more rare.
By the early 3rd millennium BC, gold becomes symbolic with royal authority in Egypt. Expeditions were now organized for mines containing gold. In the Indus, by the 3rd millennium BC, and likely earlier, gold was also utilized extensively, reflecting its increased importance for elites and trade. Similar to other regions, gold was generally found as part of electrum, which is also a natural alloy.
