Gold In Civilizations
by Peter Doram
http://www.ftgold.com
This precious metal fuels many men's greed and lust. It's a
powerful symbol of wealth that many in today's society and
ancient civilizations could not live without. Gold controls
the monetary trading system and is the number one ingredient
in jewelry.
Ancient civilizations recognized the beauty of gold. The
history of this precious metal shows that time and again
people are driven to possess it. The artisans of ancient
Egypt fashioned elegant golden objects for the
royal rulers, the pharaohs. These artifacts were encased
in the tombs with the royals to accompany them on their
journey to the afterlife. Apparently, even the gods of the
underworld were influenced by gold. Gold was so prized in
Europe that the Spanish sailors were willing to sail into
the unknown in search of gold.
Gold and the symbols of the sun are linked in ancient
history. The Incas in South America called gold "the
sweat of the Sun." Of course, the Egyptian religion at the
time of the pharaohs worshipped the Sun god. Other
cultures sacrificed people wrapped in golden objects to
their Sun god. When the Roman Empire was at its peak,
golden objects were considered treasures. About the time
of the fall of the Roman Empire, known gold deposits were
nearly mined out and new golden objects were not made
until about 1000 years later.
When the Spanish traveler Cortez came upon the Americas in
the 1500s and stole the Mexican's treasured gold,
productions in gold regained speed. Again, when
California's Gold Rush exposed veins of gold along the West
Coast and later up in Yukon Territory, gold took on a new
dimension. This rush permitted even the most common person
to own a piece of gold. If you could find a big enough
nugget, you could enter a lifestyle reserved for only the
upper echelon. After the gold rush of the mid 1800s, over
90% of the world's population of gold has been produced.
Since the time of the Gold Rush, a few more veins of gold
have been discovered in Australia and South Africa,
increasing the gold market once again. With more gold
available, artisans are once again using gold in sculptures
and other monuments.
The main use for gold is simply gold bars that back the
world's economy and currency. Otherwise, gold is used for
fashioning jewelry where its value is determined by karat,
weight in grams, and craftsmanship. Since gold is a soft
metal, it must be mixed with another metal in order to make
durable jewelry. The mixtures are termed simply as yellow
gold and white gold. In the past, yellow gold was the
standard but today's generations prefer white gold.
What is the difference between white and yellow gold? When
mined, gold is yellow. Gold is usually mixed with an alloy
of nickel or zinc. White gold is pure gold that is mixed
with an alloy of nickel and palladium.
What remains the lure of gold in modern age? As the ancient
philosopher Pihder said over 2500 years ago, "Gold is the
child of Zeus, neither moth or rust devour it."
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