Ancient civilizations that evolved in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Greece, China and other regions in the Middle East and Europe, started utilizing copper to develop weapons and tools as early as 8700 B.C. By 4500 B.C., tin and copper were melted and cast to create bronze which is stronger and more durable than copper. As such, bronze art, statues, coinage, weapons and tools were manufactured. This is the historical age known as the Bronze Age. While terrestrial iron is naturally much more abundant than copper or tin, its high melting point, i.e. 1538 °C, was out of reach for the manufacturing methods developed by the Bronze Age. Therefore, it was not until the end of the second millennium BC that larger and hotter furnaces were developed, which allowed the implementation or iron in the technology. Since then, metal became a political material, influencing the rise and fall of civilizations, as it was used for crafting weapons or used as a symbol of the elite and cultural growth. As iron became available, blacksmiths became the basic metalworkers giving shape to the metal pieces, known as forging. During forging, the blacksmith heats the metal, works it briefly, returns it to the heat and continues this sequence until the piece reaches its final shape. With the emergence of metallurgy, the shaping process was often followed by final heat treatments or quenching, to provide the material with the desired mechanical properties. The traditional metal forming methods evolved through the middle ages, until a new process called rolling, wherein materials in sheet form emerged. It is not known who created the first rolling mill, but one of the earliest drawings by Leonardo da Vinci shows a rolling mill. Since the 15th century, the rolling process has evolved and nowadays immense continuous production lines combine rolling and complex heat treatment processes, while the product quality is ensured by standardization and process monitoring. In addition tometal forming, new materials and manufacturing emerged during the ages. As such, the development and implementation of advanced materials, combined with innovative manufacturing processes, have transformed society, accelerated technological advancements, and improved the lives of humanity by enabling breakthroughs in fields such as construction, transportation, electronics and medicine.