ABSTRACT
This chapter purposes the term native that is applied to metals that are found in the metallic state and which are not produced from ores by smelting. The non-metallic impurities such as quartz and ferric hydroxide would be removed by melting, and therefore gold artifacts containing the materials are probably made from beaten natural gold as distinct from remelted gold. Evans reports that some of the gold objects from Broighter such as the boatwere in fact made of electrum. Copper, being less noble than gold, is more likely to be attacked by weathering agencies. For the reason there is some controversy about the manner of the formation of native copper. A spectrographic analysis of a tin-filled penannular ring from Limerick, showed some silver and a trace of copper to be present in the gold. The iron is characterized by a high nickel content, and usually by the presence of an appreciable amount of phosphorus and some other less important elements.
