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Before the Iron Age, that is before the advent of iron smelting, the main source of the metal was meteoric iron. Here we propose a discussion about the use of this iron to make artifacts by people of ancient Egypt and China. For Egypt, we will report as the meteoric iron appeared, according to the British writer Alan Alford, in the Pyramid Texts. It is also told that of iron was made one of the ritual tools used during the “opening of the mouth ceremony”, an ancient Egyptian ritual described in funerary texts. One of the shapes of this tool resembled the asterism of the circumpolar stars of the Big Dipper. The iron of Tutankhamun’s dagger and of the Kamil Crater will be discussed too. Then, we will consider China, where meteoric iron was forged onto the blades of bronze weapons. We will discuss also the Hongshan Culture, famous for its jade artifacts. Modern artifacts, defined as Hongshan iron meteorites, show asterisms (the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia) carved on them, but the literature that we will mention here, about this Chinese neolithic culture, is not stressing any use of meteorites. In any case, it is true that the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper have been represented by Neolithic China. For what concerns the meteorites, as in the ancient Egypt, people of China considered the heavens as the source of meteoric iron. Contents: Sidereus Nuncius - Sign N41 and the Pyramid Texts -The big void in Akhet Khufu - In the secret repository - Whatever it is - Caliph Al Ma’mun and his father - Shafts and Heaven’s Doors - Iron throne and sceptre – Charlemagne – The body - The Pindar’s iron throne – During the Early Iron Age - From the Guide of British Museum (1904) – Horus - Glittering in the nightly sky - The Bull’s Leg - The metal of Seth - ‘Opening of the Mouth and Eyes’ ritual - The second Khufu solar boat – Black-market and Kamil Crater - Other non destructive analyses – A gift from Mitanni? - Kharga Oasis origin - The necklace from Gerzeh - Origin of the words – Stone and Fire – Benben and Bennu, the Phoenix - Meteoric Iron? - Iron or copper? - Emperor Jahangir's meteorite blade - From Egypt to China – Layers on the bronze blades - Shang and Zhou - Meteoric Iron and Amulets - Hongshan Meteorite Iron? - The Nine Stars of the Big Dipper – Supernova - Pig-dragon - The “secret” Hongshan culture - The C-dragon – Rituals – Dream Pool Essays - Additional Information: Latin literature about meteorites - Sacred meteorites - “Black iron of heaven from sky” in the treasure of a Hittite king - Artifact of Meteoric Iron - About Copper in Egypt – Sword and ring from celestial iron (J. R. R. Tolkien) - Meteoric iron talismans in Shangshung - An expert’s guide to meteorites&nbsp

Before the Iron Age, that is before the advent of iron smelting, the main source of the metal was meteoric iron. Here we propose a discussion about the use of this iron to make artifacts by people of ancient Egypt and China. For Egypt, we will report as the iron is appearing, according to Alan Alford, in the Pyramid Texts. The iron of Tutankhamun’s dagger and of Kamil Crater will be discussed too. Then, we will consider China and in particular the Hongshan Culture, famous for its jade artifacts. Modern artifacts, defined as Hongshan iron meteorites, show asterisms (the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia) carved on them, but the literature that we will mention here, about this Chinese neolithic culture, is not stressing any use of meteorites. In any case, it is true that the Nine Stars of the Big Dipper have been represented by Neolithic China. For what concerns meteorites, it is possible that, as in ancient Egypt, people of Neolithic China had considered the stars as the source of meteoric iron. Contents: Sidereus Nuncius - Sign N41 and the Pyramid Texts -The big void in Akhet Khufu - Shafts and Heaven’s Doors - Iron throne and sceptre - Glittering in the nightly sky - The second Khufu solar boat – Black-market and Kamil Crater - Other non destructive analyses – The necklace from Gerzeh - Origin of the words - From Egypt to China - Meteoric Iron and Amulets - Shang and Zhou - Hongshan Meteorite Iron? - The Nine Stars of the Big Dipper – Pig-dragon - The “secret” Hongshan culture - The C-dragon &nbsp