A malleable, comparatively scarce metallic element which is used as a constituent in alloys, notably bronze. In the Old World, ancient sources are known in England, Spain, and Bohemia - with others probably in central Italy and eastern Turkey. Though the New World had no Bronze Age, some tin was used in Mexico for vessels and ornaments, and it was alloyed with copper in Middle America and the Andean countries. Tin is extracted from cassiterite.