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Silver

the Greek words phôs (light) and phoros (bearer). There are no colorful stories like that about silver. That’s be- cause people discovered it and began using it in prehistoric times–before events got written down.

In the Beginning

Archaeologists believe that silver was first mined more than 5,000 years ago. They have discovered slag heaps near an- cient mines in Greece and Asia

The early Anatolian people who left this statue also mined silver.

Minor. (Asia Minor was also known as Anatolia, and that area now makes up modern-day Turkey.) Experts think that silver was one of the first metals discovered and used by humans. Other early discover- ies are gold, copper, lead, and iron.

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