Chalcolithic

The Chalcolithic (/ˈkælkəˌlɪθɪk/ KAL-kə-LI-thik) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was a time when people started using copper more. It came after the Neolithic and before the Bronze Age. Using copper was important because copper tools were stronger than stone tools. But people still used stone tools most of the time.

The Chalcolithic happened at different times in different places. In some places like Russia, there was no clear Copper Age between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age. A key place is Belovode on Rudnik mountain in Serbia. Scientists found evidence of copper smelting there from around 5,000 BC. This is one of the oldest known examples.

In Europe, the Chalcolithic lasted from the late 5th to the late 3rd millennium BC. In the Ancient Near East, it began in the late 5th millennium BC and lasted about a thousand years before the Early Bronze Age started. Some early tin bronze objects were found in places like Bulgaria and Serbia that are dated to before 4,000 BC. This shows that bronze was used earlier than people thought.

In Britain, the Chalcolithic was a shorter time between about 2,500 and 2,200 BC. During this time, the first copper and gold objects appeared. New types of ceramic were made, and people from the Bell Beaker culture began to move into the area. This marked the end of the local late Neolithic period.

Terminology

See also: List of archaeological periods

The Chalcolithic, also called the Copper Age or Eneolithic, has different names because people describe it in various ways. Long ago, scholars thought the Bronze Age included both copper and bronze tools. Later, they learned that copper was used first.

One scientist suggested calling this time the Copper Age because many copper objects were found in one area. Others used the term Eneolithic, meaning "bronze-stone" transition. Today, the words Copper Age, Eneolithic, and Chalcolithic all name the same period when people began using copper tools before discovering bronze. The name Chalcolithic comes from Greek words for "copper" and "stone."

Regions

Near East

See also: Ancient Near East § Chalcolithic, and Levantine Chalcolithic

The Chalcolithic period was when people began using copper. Copper is a metal made by heating certain rocks. One of the first metals humans used was lead, which can be found in nature. Early examples of lead use include small beads and bracelets from places like Chatal/Çatal Hüyük in Anatolia and Jarmo. Copper smelting, the process of making copper from its ores, was also happening around this time, with evidence found in sites like Tell Maghzaliyah. In the Timna Valley, copper mining took place between 7000 and 5000 BC.

Europe

One of the oldest pieces of evidence for copper smelting in Europe is a copper axe found in Prokuplje, Serbia, dating to around 5500 BC. This discovery shows that copper smelting might have been developed separately in Europe and Asia. In northern Europe, copper artefacts from around 4000 to 3300 BC have been found, mostly belonging to the Funnel Beaker group. Even people who did not use copper directly made stone tools that looked like copper tools. Famous finds include a copper axe carried by Ötzi the Iceman, who lived around 3300 BC.

South Asia

In South Asia, during the Chalcolithic period, there was a lot of trading between places like the Indus Valley Civilisation, Turkmenistan, and Iran. People in places such as Mehrgarh in Pakistan made tools from copper as early as 7000 BC. Different cultures, like Ahar or Banas, Kayatha, Malwa, and Jorwe, each had their own styles of pottery and used copper in their creations.

Americas

Main articles: Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and Metallurgy in pre-Columbian America

In the Americas, copper was used long before Europeans arrived. In South America, Andean civilizations developed copper smelting on their own. In North America, especially around the Great Lakes region, early people used copper to make tools and ornaments. These copper objects are some of the oldest known in the world, dating back as far as 6500 BC.

East Asia

Main article: History of metallurgy in China § Copper

In East Asia, copper objects began appearing around the 5th millennium BC, although they were not commonly used at first. By the Yangshao period (5000–3000 BC), people in places like Jiangzhai and the Hongshan cultures were making copper items. This shows that people in the Yellow River valley learned how to work with copper during this time.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Main articles: Copper metallurgy in Africa and Iron metallurgy in Africa

In the Aïr Mountains of Niger, people began smelting copper between 3000 and 2500 BC. This was a local development, not influenced by other regions, and became more advanced around 1500 BC.