Who discovered the element gold?
The individual is unknown, since ancient people knew about, mined, and smelted gold before history was recorded. Gold may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold. Egypt and Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. Gold is also mentioned several times in the Old Testament, and is included with the gifts of the magi in the first chapters of Matthew New Testament. Gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world’s earliest coinage in Lydia between 643 and 630 BC.
