Darn, I didn't complete my thought; sorry.
So, as the distribution of elements that 'ought' to appear from the 'original' big bang -aka the Singularity- didn't appear, the theory goes that there was a Bang, a contraction and then another Bang, and another contraction and then another Bang (I believe the guess is 5 Bangs to get to where we are today).
(I'm not sure if I want to go there...)
The density of material at the instant the "big bang" is such that no elements are possible. The universe, post bang, starts as a sea of energy. Initial expansion allows cooling and the formation of subatomic particles. As things continue to cool, neutrons, electrons and then finally elemental hydrogen forms. There is no mechanism to carry over anything from the previous expansion/contraction cycle. Time starts at zero with the bang and there is no significance to time before T=0
The elements from hydrogen to iron are formed in the first generation of hydrogen burning stars. The remainder of the elements are forged by later generations of stars going nova. All the elements present in this universe can be accounted for by thermonuclear processes post big bang.
The expansion/contraction of the universe could have been beating like a cosmic clock for uncountable cycles. Or this could be the first "tick" for all we know. Because nothing can pass through the singularity, not matter, not energy, not information. Time truly starts over each expansion.
You may think of it as the ultimate "Mulligan".
Regards,
GtG