But they could harvest iron from meteorites to make weapons, tools, and decorative objects. Meteoric iron is easily distinguished from terrestrial iron: It has more nickel and less carbon.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are the iron meteorites, which again, are fairly self-explanatory. They’re rich in ...

"We now see that 12 of the iron-rich ordinary chondrite meteorites (H chondrites) originated from a debris field called "Koronis," which is located low in the pristine main belt," said Jenniskens.