ABSTRACT
It has been known for thousands of years that solid objects fall from the skies and early falls were recorded in China in 644 BC, in Greece in 466 BC and by the Romans. Meteoritic iron objects have been found in Egyptian pyramids, and the hieroglyphic symbol used to describe them translates as heavenly iron. They were sometimes regarded as of religious significance; the holy black stone enshrined in the Kaaba of the Islamic faith in Mecca, said to have been placed there by Abraham, is possibly of meteoritic origin. To the Inuit people of the Arctic, meteoritic iron was an important material that was used in the making of tools and hunting weapons, although it is somewhat soft for such purposes.
