世界金融家:Stone Mining&Gold Mining

Stone Mining
Wood for building was scarce in most places where civilizations first arose. Vast forests just did not exist in these predominately arid regions. The principle building material for common uses was mud bricks, sun-dried at first and then fire baked. In some areas important structures such as temples, palaces, tombs, and fortifications were built of stone when it was available. Much information about ancient Egypt was preserved because of the permanence of stone. Equivalent structures in Mesopotamia collapsed into mounds of earth after many centuries of neglect and weathering. Acquiring non-wood building materials through brick making or quarrying was the object of Stone Mining.

Gold Mining
Gold washed down from hills and mountains was probably the first metal with which humans experimented. It was sufficiently soft and pure to be fashioned easily into objects of beauty for adornment and trade. The value of gold remained high as populations increased because the demand for it continued to exceed supply. Because of this value, the trail of gold was followed back to the source of the alluvial nuggets. Gold mining was developed to obtain ore from which the pure metal could be extracted. Many of the most beautiful objects that survive from antiquity are made of gold, including hundreds of items from the Egyptian Pharoah Tutankhamen' s tomb.
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