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→Early Use of Gold
==Early Use of Gold==
One of the oldest known uses of gold appears to be in Bulgaria, from a site that is called Varna Necropolis or Varna Cemetery, which dates to around 4600 BC.<ref>For detailed information about the Varna Necropolis, see: Ivanov, Ivan Simeonov, and Mai︠a︡ Avramova, eds. 2000. Varna Necropolis: The Dawn of European Civilization. Treasures of Bulgaria 1. Sofia: Agatʹo Publ.</ref> The site is a burial ground were a number of gold artifacts were found to be in clear burial contexts with human skeletons. Surprisingly, out of the more than 200 graves found, many of them contained gold and other metal finds (primarily copper). One individual seemed to have far more gold buried with him, with objects including a gold mace, jewelry, and even a penis sheath made of gold (Figure 1).
[[File:Or de Varna - Nécropole.jpg|thumbnail|right|Figure 1. One the earliest gold graves found, at the site of Varna Necropolis, where the high status individual is buried with a substantial amount 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 establishedby the 4th millennium BC. 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 5th millennium BC. In Egypt, mining was likely already taking place in areas where gold deposits were found, 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 Ancient Gold Mining Sites in the Egyptian and Sudanese Eastern Deserts. 2012. New York: Springer.</ref> In Mesopotamia, we the first gold appears in the 5th millennium BC during the Ubaid period. 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.<ref>For more information about gold in Mesopotamia, see: Leick, Gwendolyn. 2010. Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. 2nd ed. Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, no. 26. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, pg. 79.</ref>
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.
