Brenham (AMNH 3813)
Part of Hall of Meteorites.
Meteorites on the Move
The Brenham meteorite scattered more than three tons of meteorite fragments in the vicinity of Brenham, Kansas. Pieces of the Brenham meteorite have also been found up to 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) away-transported by Native American traders and buried in mounds by the Hopewell people more than 1,500 years ago. Some pieces were pounded into iron knives, ear ornaments, chisels, buttons and beads.
For thousands of years, meteorites were the primary source of iron metal for peoples around the world. All natural iron rusts, or oxidizes. But only meteoritic iron is mixed with nickel, forming a steel alloy that is extremely strong and rust-resistant.
