Perhaps agriculture. Maybe trapping. Certainly fishing.

Archeological evidence shows that mankind produced castings thousands of years B.C.

The Colossus of Rhodes in Greece, one of the 7 wonders of the world, was cast out of bronze in 290 B.C.

The manufacture of castings even led to the American Revolution, more so than the Stamp Act on tea. An English act prohibiting the casting of iron in the colonies and the construction of American foundries brought forth pre-revolutionary resistance.

The metal casting industry's tie-in with the American Revolution may account for the fact that many of the nation's prominent forefathers were foundrymen, including Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere.

Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence worked in foundries.

In Fact, George Washington's father built a foundry in 1724 on Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.