TIN

TIN
   Tin was essential for the production of bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin. It was always a precious commodity and, like all metals, had to be imported to Mesopotamia. The first experiments in casing true tin bronze occurred in the late Uruk period, as isolated finds from Tepe Gawra document. A flagon discovered at Kish and dating from the Jemdet Nasr (beginning of the third millennium B.C.) is one the earliest tin bronze objects. Finds from the Ur cemetery suggest that tin bronze was preferred for metal vessels, while silverbronze was used for weapons. Actual tin artifacts are so far only known from finds in some early Old Babylonian tombs. No cuneiform sources reveal the place of origin of tin, only its sites of distribution. It is likely that tin was mined in eastern Anatolia during the third millennium and exported from there to many distant places. In the early second millennium, however, Assyrian merchants brought tin to Anatolia, where it was traded for locally produced silver. It has been suggested that at that time tin came from much farther east, from Afghanistan, perhaps because Anatolian mines had become exhausted. Mari also was an important station of distribution in the early Old Babylonian period. In the later second and in the first millennia, eastern Anatolia once again supplied tin, as Hittite and Assyrian sources indicate.

Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia. . 2012.

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  • Tin — is a chemical element with the symbol Sn ( la. stannum) and atomic number 50. This silvery, malleable poor metal that is not easily oxidized in air and resists corrosion, is found in many alloys and is used to coat other metals to prevent… …   Wikipedia

  • TIN — /tin/, n. taxpayer identification number. * * * Metallic chemical element, chemical symbol Sn, atomic number 50. It is a soft, silvery white metal with a bluish tinge, employed since antiquity in the traditional form of bronze, its alloy with… …   Universalium

  • Tin — Tin, n. [As. tin; akin to D. tin, G. zinn, OHG. zin, Icel. & Dan. tin, Sw. tenn; of unknown origin.] 1. (Chem.) An elementary substance found as an oxide in the mineral cassiterite, and reduced as a soft silvery white crystalline metal, with a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tin — (tĭn) n. 1. Symbol Sn A crystalline, silvery metallic element obtained chiefly from cassiterite, and having two notable allotropic forms. Malleable white tin is the useful allotrope, but at temperatures below 13.2°C it slowly converts to the… …   Word Histories

  • Tin Oo — est un nom birman ; les principes des noms et prénoms ne s appliquent pas ; U et Daw sont des titres de respect. Tin Oo (né en 1927 et souvent appelé Thura Tin Oo ou U Tin Oo) est un général birman en retraite, ancien commandant en chef …   Wikipédia en Français

  • tin — [ tɛ̃ ] n. m. • 1465; du moy. fr. tin, tind ♦ Mar. Pièce de bois qui supporte la quille d un navire en construction. ⇒ béquille, billot, chantier. Tin de ber. ⊗ HOM. Tain, teint, thym. ● tin nom masculin Pièce de bois soutenant la quille d un… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • tin — O.E. tin, from P.Gmc. *tinom (Cf. M.Du., Du. tin, O.H.G. zin, Ger. Zinn, O.N. tin), of unknown origin, not found outside Germanic. Other Indo European languages often have separate words for “tin” as a raw metal and “tin plate;” e.g. Fr.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • tin — [tin] n. [ME < OE, akin to Ger zinn; only in Gmc languages] 1. a soft, silver white, crystalline, metallic chemical element, malleable at ordinary temperatures and used in making shiny alloys and tinfoils, solders, utensils, tin plate,… …   English World dictionary

  • TIN — taxpayer identification number Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009. TIN …   Law dictionary

  • tin — ► NOUN 1) a silvery white metallic chemical element. 2) a lidded airtight container made of tinplate or aluminium. 3) chiefly Brit. a sealed tinplate or aluminium container for preserving food; a can. 4) an open metal container for baking food. ► …   English terms dictionary

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