Mineral names in Old Assyrian texts

Nearly 23.500 tablets were found in Kültepe where is located 20 kilometres northeast of Kayseri. Most of the tablets belong to Assyrian traders.These tablets proulde important information about the mining trade between Anatolia and Assyria in the period which is called the Assyrian trade colonies age, started from 2 thousand BC. Iron couldn't be produced in this period because of the fact that there wasn't enough technology yet. Therefore, items and weapons made of bronze were more durable and weful than those made from other mines tin and copper are required to make bronze. There was plenty of copper in Anatolia but there wasn't enough tin. Because Anatolia needed tin Assyrian traders bought tin of southt Asian origin and brought in to Anatolia for a period of 250 years and sold it. At the end of this trade, Assyrian merchants obtained gold and silver. The most important gain of the Anatolian people was their acquaintance with writing.