Old Copper Complex
Encyclopedia
Old Copper Complex is a term used for ancient Native North American
societies known to have been heavily involved in the utilization of copper
for weaponry and tools. It is to be distinguished from the Copper Age
(Chalcolithic era), when copper use becomes systematic.
The Old Copper Complex of the Western Great Lakes is the best known of these. Great Lakes
natives of the Archaic tradition located 99% pure copper in the area of Lake Superior
, both in veins and nuggets in gravel beds. Eventually they learned to hammer the copper and produce a variety of spearpoints, tools and decorative objects. In addition to practical use, the Copper Complex peoples traded copper goods to obtain other exotic materials.
The Copper Complex can be dated as far back as 6,000 years. By about 3,000 years ago the use of copper is increasingly restricted to jewelry and other status-related items, rather than for tools. This is thought to represent the development of more complex hierarchical cultures in the area.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
societies known to have been heavily involved in the utilization of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
for weaponry and tools. It is to be distinguished from the Copper Age
Copper Age
The Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
(Chalcolithic era), when copper use becomes systematic.
The Old Copper Complex of the Western Great Lakes is the best known of these. Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
natives of the Archaic tradition located 99% pure copper in the area of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
, both in veins and nuggets in gravel beds. Eventually they learned to hammer the copper and produce a variety of spearpoints, tools and decorative objects. In addition to practical use, the Copper Complex peoples traded copper goods to obtain other exotic materials.
The Copper Complex can be dated as far back as 6,000 years. By about 3,000 years ago the use of copper is increasingly restricted to jewelry and other status-related items, rather than for tools. This is thought to represent the development of more complex hierarchical cultures in the area.