potters needed furnaces to fire their pots, and over time they built more efficient furnaces that operated at higher temperatures and yielded better finishes. But better furnaces were just what was needed to separate copper, tin, or iron from the ores in which they were embedded so the metals could be molded, bent, or hammered into household goods, ornaments, and weapons. Coppersmiths, goldsmiths, silversmiths, and blacksmiths all used technologies pioneered by professional potters.
