Astronomy / Space King Tutankhamun's knife, extraterrestrial say scientists.

[Surfinjo]

The researchers say the presence of iron - along with levels of nickel and cobalt - "strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin".

Tutankhamun (1336 BC - 1327 BCE)
The 11th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Made famous by the discovery of his completely intact tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922
He was about 17 when he died and was likely to have inherited the throne at the age of eight or nine
Chief achievement during his short time on the throne was repairing the damage inflicted upon the temples of Amun during his father Akhenaten's tenure
Uncertainty still surrounds Tutankhamun's death. He may have been assassinated, or died as the result of an injury received while hunting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36432635

 

[Zieman]

Meteorite Iron, only source of iron for humanity for a looooong time.

 

[Surfinjo]

Meteorite Iron, only source of iron for humanity for a looooong time.

Hmmmm, that's not actually true. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age#Chronology

But the point of the post was to highlight the extraterrestrial bit. Bit of humour really.

 

[Aquamonkey]

That wikipedia page on the Iron Age supports Zeiman. Earliest iron artifacts were meteoric iron from 3200 BC. Smelted iron appeared sporadically from the middle Bronze Age (which began in 2100 BC).

Tutankhamun did live during the New Kingdom in the late Bronze Age when smelted iron would have been available, especially to someone of his position.

 

[Surfinjo]

That wikipedia page on the Iron Age supports Zeiman. Earliest iron artifacts were meteoric iron from 3200 BC. Smelted iron appeared sporadically from the middle Bronze Age (which began in 2100 BC).

Tutankhamun did live during the New Kingdom in the late Bronze Age when smelted iron would have been available, especially to someone of his position.

No it doesn't. I suggest you read it again and compare to the period of Tutankhamun (1336 BC - 1327 BCE)

The amounts of meteoric iron available is very small. It is likely that a meteorite was recovered and smelted into a knife for Tutankhamun so that his possessions could be associated with the sky. Given that one of the pretensions of the Pharoes was that they were gods on Earth. But it would have needed to be a very large meteorite or a number of large ones, to provide enough material.

There are a number of large iron objects in India for example, that pre-date 1300BC.

Anyway, this is getting a bit heavy for what was supposed to be a light hearted topic.

 

[Aquamonkey]

No it doesn't. I suggest you read it again and compare to the period of Tutankhamun (1336 BC - 1327 BCE)

I read it just fine:

The earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads, dated to 3200 BC, from burials in Gerzeh, northern Egypt, identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful hammering.[4] Meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its native metallic state, required no smelting of ores.[5][6]

Smelted iron appears sporadically in the archeological record from the middle Bronze Age.

[...]

The earliest tentative evidence for iron-making is a small number of iron fragments with the appropriate amounts of carbon admixture, found in the Proto-Hittite layers at Kaman-Kalehöyük and dated to 2200 to 2000 BCE.

First meteoric iron forged: 3200 BC
First smelted iron: Middle Bronze Age = 2100-1550 BC

Smelted iron appeared about 1000 years after meteoric iron was being used.

It is likely that a meteorite was recovered and smelted into a knife for Tutankhamun so that his possessions could be associated with the sky.

Forging iron is not the same as smelting iron.

There are a number of large iron objects in India for example, that pre-date 1300BC.

Yes... I already know smelted iron was available in Tutankhamun's time...

Tutankhamun did live during the New Kingdom in the late Bronze Age when smelted iron would have been available, especially to someone of his position.

 

[GJ51]

I don't know

Seems to me like

once you've had one terrestrial

there's no need for an extra one...

 

[Surfinjo]

Yup, you're right.

And it was never particularly funny in any case.

Sorry I bothered.

 

[Stupid_hippy]

You might want to look up the cape york meteorite.. all 30 tons or so of it.

For centuries it was their only source of metal,until an American explorer stole it from them.

I wonder how many knives and harpoons you could make out of that?

 

[Patrick_68000]

The civilization of the Pharaohs has always been linked to an extra terrestrial history