1. Prehistoric times: from accidental use to technological revolution
Earliest uses:
Around 9000 BC, humans first used natural copper to make small tools or jewellery in Western Asia (around present-day Turkey and Iran). At this time, copper existed as a natural monomer and was shaped by pounding (cold forging).
Smelting Breakthrough:
Around 5000 B.C., humans learned to smelt copper from ores such as malachite. The earliest evidence of this occurs in Serbia (c. 5500 BC) and Mesopotamia.
Chalcolithic:
In 4000-3000 BC, the Middle East and Europe entered the ‘Chalcolithic Age’, in which copper tools (e.g., axes, awls) coexisted with stone tools, but copper did not yet completely replace stone tools because of its soft texture. 2. Bronze Age: Civilisation was not yet fully developed by the Bronze Age, but by the Bronze Age.
2. Bronze Age: A Leap in Civilisation
Invention of Alloys:
Around 3300 BC, craftsmen in the Two Rivers Valley or Anatolia discovered that mixing copper with tin (or arsenic) could make a harder bronze, marking the beginning of the ‘Bronze Age’.
China: During the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (c. 2000 BC), bronze vessels (such as the Simuwuding and the Four Sheep Square Zun) reached a very high level of craftsmanship, and functioned as both ceremonial vessels and weapons.
Other civilisations:
Ancient Egypt: Bronze tools were used to build pyramids (e.g. bronze chisels).
Indus Valley Civilisation: Bronze scales and jewellery.
Europe: Bronze weapons from the Mycenaean civilisation (e.g. the Nestorian Cup).
Social impacts:
The scarcity of copper and bronze empowered tribes that controlled the mines and accelerated social stratification.
Bronze weapons (e.g., swords, spears) changed the pattern of warfare. 3.
3. Classical Period to Industrial Revolution: Money and Utilitarianism
Roman Empire:
Copper coins (e.g., As) became the backbone of the economy, and mines spread throughout Cyprus (from which the Latin name Cuprum is derived).
Copper pipes were used for water diversion systems (e.g. Roman aqueducts).
China:
From the Han Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, copper coins (e.g. ‘five baht coins’, ‘Kaiyuan Tongbao’) were the main currency, and copper mining was monopolised by the state.
Copper statues were used in Buddhist art (e.g. gilt-bronze Buddhas of the Tang Dynasty).
Civilisation of the Americas:
The Aztecs and Incas used copper to make tools and ornaments, but did not develop bronze technology.
4. Modern: Symbols of Industry and Culture
Electrification Revolution (after the 19th century):
Copper became the core material for electric wires, generators and telegraphs because of its electrical conductivity, fuelling the Second Industrial Revolution.
Cultural symbols:
Wealth: the English phrase ‘copper-bottomed’ means ‘reliable’ (from the copper-coated bottom of a ship to protect against corrosion).
Health: European tradition suggests that wearing copper bracelets is a cure for arthritis (modern research partially confirms the anti-inflammatory effect).
Art: The greenish copper of the Statue of Liberty symbolises time and freedom, and sculptors such as Giacometti preferred copper.
Language and lore:
The Chinese word for ‘copper stinks’ is an ironic reference to the supremacy of money.
In Greek mythology, Cyprus (the Copper Island) was the birthplace of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
