User:David Larreina/Metallurgy during Copper Age in Europe

Metallurgy during the Copper Age in Europe

¬¬¬¬	Copper Age, also called Eneolithic and Chalcolithic, was traditionally understood like a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age in which a lukewarm introduction of the metal (native copper) took place while the stone was still the main resource utilized. Recent archaeology has stated that the metal was not introduced in so a tepid way and that this entailed significative social changes; such as some kind of hierarchization; evolves in the type of inhabitation (larger villages, launching of fortifications…); long distance trade and, of course, copper metallurgy. Roughly, it could be situated chronologically between the Fifth Millennium BC, specially the second half of it, -in trailblazer sites like Plocknic (Serbia) or Cerro Virtud (Almería, Spain) - and the Third Millennium BC in places like Palmela (Portugal), Cortes de Navarra (Spain) or Stonehenge (United Kingdom). However as often happens in the Prehistoric times, the limits can not be clearly defined and are been updating ceaselessly.

THE INCEPTION OF METALLURGY IN EUROPE
The theory of diffusion pointed that metallurgy was exported to Europe from the Near East has been completely ruled out. Another hypothesis manifested that there were two main focuses in Europe, South of Spain and the Balkans through where it would be distributed to the rest of Europe. This one has tripped with the paradox that there are sites out of the centres of diffusion, i.e. Brixlegg (Tyrol, Austria) in where metallurgy was known simultaneously or even before than in those ‘original’ nucleus or in sites closer physically to them -i.e. the north of Spain- show a rather ridiculous number of metal artefacts in comparation with the south and practically no evidence of production (Perez Arrondo 1986). Nowadays the general opinion is that the development of the metallurgy took place in different places and moments independently. Certain evidences lead to that proposition: although the final product (beads, rings, sickles, swords, axes, etc…) is quite similar in the whole Europe, the way of production is not. Thus the use of crucibles was the technique utilized in the South of Spain whereas Central Europe employed a slagging process; Cabrierés (France) a primitive oxidizing non-slagging process (Bourgarit et al. 2003) or in the British Isles the absence of debris, slag, ceramic… suggests another technique (Craddock 1995).

Consequently, the way in which metallurgy, and therefore these novelties, was set in motion is considerably disparate depending on the region. There are areas in which copper seems to play a crucial roll (i.e. Balkans) whereas others (South East of Europe) show no interest for it at all; there are societies that use the copper artefacts but do not know the metallurgy (Mohen 1992; 71) and there are other ones that adopt wholeheartedly some of the cultural innovations but ignore the rest; i.e. in the Basque Country (North of Spain), splendid large dolmens are present along the Ebro river (figure 2), but the metal is rather infrequent and when appears between the trapping use to be bronze or arsenic copper more that copper (Cava 1984).

WHY COPPER
Copper is the eight most abundant metal in the earth crust, available in all over the world and one of the few that can appear in pure state (Atkinson 1987). Besides, it is not complicate work with it, a bare hammering can be enough to transform a nugget into a bead. Furthermore the eye-catching look of the native copper makes it easy to recognize and even flashier if converted into jewellery, so no wonder that the humankind started the metallurgy with it. An evolutive technological process (Coghlan 1975, Mohen 1992; 48) has been described, although there are authors like Javinovic (Mohen 1992; 52) who thinks that it is not necessary to pass through the first stages to reach the last one. This is seems to be true in several sites, being the most clear the case of ''Rudna Glava'.

CONVERTING COPPER

•	Stage A: Although nowadays native copper is most frequently find in the showcase of Museums, it appeared copiously during the Prehistoric times, In Cyprus or Crete collecting the mineral could be so easy as simply pick it up and in fact it is due to that exploitation that it is no easy to find it in that state these days. The treatment of this native mineral was also uncomplicated, cold-hammered. This permitted the production of only a limited range of artefacts like awls, pins or beads, in bigger objects the mineral cracks if it is cold-hammered.

•	Stage B: Annealing the mineral on an open fire (200-300º C are enough) reduces its hardness considerably and earns in malleability. This permits the confection of slightly more sophisticated objects, like bracelets, but still is a rather limited technique.

•	Stage C: In the first two steps the mineral used was native copper that, as we have seen, does no need really specialized technology. Probably due to the native copper was more and more uneasy to find, in this third step ore copper is used. This is a very significant evolve, in fact this is truly the beginning of the metallurgy, as the mineral has to be smelted to separate the copper from the gangue. Ad hoc technology is required:

-	To start with, the raw material. Copper can be found in over 160 different minerals (Atkinson 1987) but mining activities are entailed to obtain them in large quantities if a reasonable amount of copper is wanted. Ones of the most commonly exploited minerals are the Cuprite, Malachite, Azurite, Chalcopyrite, Chrysocolla and Tennantita, i.e. malachite was extracted in Rudna Glava (Serbia), Cabrierés (France) or Chinflón (Riotinto, Spain). In fact, one of the possible explanation about what Otzi -the famous ‘ice man’ founded in the Alps that lived around 3300 years BC- was doing at 3210 m. of altitude is that he could be prospecting for new ores of mineral (Peroni 1996; 336).

-	Secondly, separate the useful mineral from the gangue. This is only possible by smelting. To do so is necessary an appropriate furnace, able to reach at least the 1089º C of temperature.

-	Lastly we must not forget that a wide range of specific tools and resources have to be available, such as furnaces, moulds, crucibles, mauls, etc…

EARLY MINING IN EUROPE
Minerals of copper were known from ancient times. In Crete little fragments of malachite and azurite were powdered and used as make up or decorate ceramic in an early date such as 6000 BC (Mohen 1992). Therefore, the minerals were not collected looking for the copper but for virtues like the mentioned or simply because its bright and colour but this knowledge of the minerals is critical since they already known how to recognize and where to collect when later started the systematical search of ores. Numerous examples of mines are known all over Europe (Craddock 1980, Mohen 1992 and 1996, Shennan 1999, Bartelheim et al. 2003) from the east -Rudna Glava (Serbia), Ai Bunar (Bulgaria)- to the west -Mount Gabriel (Ireland), Great Orme, Alderley Edge (United Kingdom)- crossing the Central Europe -Mitterberg (Salzach, Austria), Neuchâtel (Switzerland), Cabrierés (France)- to the South -Riotinto, Mola Alta de Serelles (Spain)- and the Mediterranean –Corsica, Cyprus, Cyclades-. It is remarkably that usually it is not a single mine but a complex, with a variable large number of shafts, as Rudna Glava (30) or Mount Gabriel (31).

TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS
The techniques observed in all of them are quite similar. Basically they used the thermic alteration or firesetting (Mohen 1992, Craddock 1995, Eiroa et al. 1996, Timberlake 2003). This consists in apply fire over the rock and then pour water, the rapid changes of temperatures will cause cracks within the rocks that can be totally broken with the help of mauls and picks. Then the useful masses were selected, crushed and transported to the production centre that could be in the surrounding area (Mitterberg) or far away (Rudna Glava). The mines were exploited in an extremely efficient and witty way according to the technology available (Jovanovic 1980, Craddock 1995, Timberlake 2003), the entire convenient mineral was cleaned and the abandon shafts carefully refill with non-profitable minerals and rocks (Mohen 1992; 85). I.e., for Mount Gabriel was estimated that they extracted the astonishing number of 32570.15 tonnes of rock, gangue and ore. The usable amount of copper was 162.85 tonnes and the final smelting finished metal was 146.56 tonnes (Jackson 1980; 24). All the process was perfectly described in 1744 by Lewis Morris, Crown Mineral Agent for Cardiganshire and,incidentally, antiquarian (Timberlake, 2003, 22):

''‘Their method seems to be this. They make a great fire of wood in the bottom of their rakes which were always open up on that account, and when the rock was sufficiently hot they cast water upon it, which shiver’d it; and then with stone wedges, which they drove in with other stones, they work’d their way through the hardest rocks, tho’ but slowly.’''

The tools employed are mainly presented in Lewis’ observations, but other ones have been recovered in archaeological context:

▪Stone tools: The most frequent find are the stone hammers, normally made of hard rocks accessible to the mine, beach or river pebbles (Jovanovic 1980, Craddock 1995). There is no standardization of these mauls but is common a system of hafting, usually a groove carved in the middle for where a rope was tied to the handle, like the twisted hazel recovered in Copa Hill (Timberlake 2003; 32-33).

▪Antler and bone tools: Picks and scrapes made of bone and antlers have been found in the majority of the mines (Craddock 1995).

▪Wood: Evidences of wooden tools are more infrequently. Nevertheless in places like Ai Bunar or Mount Gabriel were recovered shovels and wedges. A rudimentary system of stairs or scaffoldings can been supposed (Mohen 1992).

▪Metal: The use of any metallic tool is rather strange and extraordinary. It seems that the copper was not used certainly for the miner tools. However copper chisels and discarded axes could be utilized as wedges. (Craddock 1995; 97)

▪Other evidences: The presence of charcoal, crucial for the firing (fire-setting) and furnace (fuel), is habitual. To transport the crushed mineral were used leather sacks (Ai Burna) and shoulder baskets (Copa Hill).

SOCIETY
The information available about the people protagonist of the Copper Age has not, regrettably, increased as well as the number of archaeological sites. Several ideas has been pointed, one of the most followed is that the metal itself did not bring abrupt transformation into the people’s life (Cunliffe 1998) or even more that ‘early copper does not produce anything useful at all’ (Renfrew 1986, 146), meaning with this that with the copper they produced mainly jewellery and, overall, weapons that obviously were not within reach to the majority of the population but only to privileged individuals. In other words, that the real importance of the metal is not utilitarian but social. This is a suitable explanation about the rising of Great Cultures of Metal such as Vinca (Ex-Yugoslavia) Tiszalpogar and Ünêtice (Central Europe), Remedello and Rinaldone (Italy), Montagne Noire (France), El Argar and Targas (Spain), etc… Other interesting hypothesis deal with the status of the miners with totally opposite ideas, one thesis describes them like wealth and respected individuals in contrast with other that do it as semi-slaves (Shennan 1999). What is undeniable is that as much as the period move forward, specially around the Third Millennium, new and complex realities would appear strongly linked to the metal, like the impressive fortified villages of Los Millares(Spain), Vilanova de Sao Pedro (Portugal) or the more modest cairn next to Copa Hill (United Kingdom) apparently destinated to control the centres of extraction, or the equally stunning and generalized cultural phenomenons of Megalithism, Rock Art, Bell Beakers Vessels… that are known from Scandinavia to the South of Spain and from Scotland to Turkey.