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[Arkloyd]

If you need an anvil to make an anvil, how did the first ever anvil get made?

I posit a look into that topic. I figure that stone was used for the first forging striking surface. Perhaps let a Mason make a stone anvil that has limited use? IE, you can only make certain things using it, and one of those things would be a metal Anvil. Or better yet, a metal caster's workshop that uses clay-ceramic crucibles. It can make items of copper, tin, bronze, gold, and silver. One of the things that you could make there would be a bronze or copper anvil.

I'm sorry if this has been covered before, and I imagine it has, but a thumb through the search option found nothing, so I posted this here.

[PatrikLundell]

Check the wiki page on the anvil. Speculations on The First Anvil should be in the "D for Dwarf" section, if I remember correctly.

[Sarmatian123]

First anvil was surely an artifact, created by a moodie dwarf.

Maybe every world creation should have such 1 artifact anvil, somewhere in world?

This would be so cool.

[Romi]

Yes, The anvil of creation! 


@Arkloyd,

Gameply wise embark or trade.
Humor see the wikipage for fun.
Realistically,  stones or any other hardplace surface.

[Kelfka]

I've re read the D section on anvils on the wiki.
Here are some thoughts.
If this statement is true: "One researcher posits that all anvils originate from the FirstAnvil. Where does it come from? The FirstAnvil, of course." Then, it means that the anvil created itself. And from what I understand of mythology, only god-like primordial forces are able to do that. Like Night, Erebus and Love in Greek mythology. So what does that mean for the first anvil?
I believe that 1) It created every other anvils. (duh!) But is also responsible for every other entities in the world from the gods to the Dwarf, Humans and Goblins. But not the Elves, they're not supposed to exist.
2) The Anvil has a tangible physical form. Since it created matter, I don't see why it would not have made some for itself.
3) The Anvil is more powerful than gods. But since it's a force it only has instinct and not a real will of it's own. So it could probably be used by the other gods for creation and destruction.

I arrive at the conclusion that every world sits on the first anvil, like the World Turtle. And every time Armok swing it's hammer, it strikes the world on the Anvil and remakes it, until he has a good results.

[Xyon]

I would say in general this question would be less of an infinite logic loop if the smelters could also be used to create certain products via metal casting.

[FantasticDorf]

The first anvil was probably a lump of Magnetite beaten with a stone-club into shape during a mood/tantrum like Samaritan said.

Obsidian is more than capable of being a supplimentary pickaxe material, so dwarves may be cutting through rock slowly using flint or even just obsidian pickaxes before then.

[Xyon]

The first anvil was probably a lump of Magnetite beaten with a stone-club into shape during a mood/tantrum like Samaritan said.

Obsidian is more than capable of being a supplimentary pickaxe material, so dwarves may be cutting through rock slowly using flint or even just obsidian pickaxes before then.

Yeah, they'd just have their obsidian pickaxes shatter every 2 minutes though.

[anewaname]

The first anvil was a usefully shaped pile of iron slag found at the site of past volcanic activity. It was considered to be a gift from Armok, as were the other pieces of iron slag that worked so well as hammers and blades. -  Unknown dwarven historian....

[feelotraveller]

The elfish annals tell it differently.  There the original anvil was created from dragonbone after the Dvergr the dwarfen-father entered into a fell mood and slew the giant serpent Edrakonmen.  The ancient incident also caused the war of the great beasts on the civilized races that continues to this very day.

[Grand Sage]

Well, non-canon DF lore states that armok regularly puts the world back onto the anvil of creation, whenever he gets bored of the old world. So that fits in with the FirstAnvil theory.

The "mood" theory seems incomplete, since anvils would probably be created in a forge, even if it was a mood.

I believe that the origin of the anvil is closely tied to the creation of the dwarf, himself. Whatever divine force created them, had the generocity to leave an anvil behind.

[feelotraveller]

Nah, there's no problem with that part of the story.

Bone anvils, if they could be made in the game (they can't even with a mood in vanilla) would be made at a craftsdwarf workshop, like bone picks can be sometimes (strange mood).  On the other hand fell mooding selects butchers or tanners workshops as a priority for whatever object they make, (anvils again impossible in vanilla) but in game only chooses dwarfs for their material anyway and dwarf bones/leather do not have the requisite properties.  But to put it clearly - no forge is required for any bone items...

The real problem here in DF is that things happen all at once or not at all.  For example there is no gradual progression of refinement of the art of metalworking, the slow experimentation with alloys and the creation of new ones.  The categories of materials and items are, um, 'set in stone'.  That is you cannot make bone anvils because... RAWS.