TheChalcolithic (/ˈkælkəˌlɪθɪk/KAL-kə-LI-thik) (also called theCopper Age andEneolithic)[a] was anarchaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smeltedcopper. It followed theNeolithic and preceded theBronze Age. It occurred at different periods in different areas, but was absent in some parts of the world, such as Russia, where there was no well-defined Copper Age between the Stone and Bronze Ages.[1] Stone tools were still predominantly used during this period.[2]
A study in the journalAntiquity from 2013 reporting the discovery of atin bronze foil from thePločnik archaeological site dated toc. 4,650 BC, as well as 14 other artefacts fromBulgaria and Serbia dated to before 4,000 BC, showed that early tin bronze was more common than previously thought and developed independently in Europe 1,500 years before the first tin bronze alloys in theNear East.[5] In Britain, the Chalcolithic is a short period between about 2,500 and 2,200 BC, characterized by the first appearance of objects of copper and gold, a newceramic culture and the immigration ofBell Beaker culture people, heralding the end of the local late Neolithic.[1]
The multiple names result from multiple definitions of the period. Originally, the termBronze Age meant that either copper or bronze was being used as the chief hard substance for the manufacture of tools and weapons. Ancient writers, who provided the essential cultural references for educated people during the 19th century, used the same name for both copper and bronze-using ages.[6]
The concept of the Copper Age was put forward by Hungarian scientistFerenc Pulszky in the 1870s, when, on the basis of the significant number of large copper objects unearthed within theCarpathian Basin, he suggested that the previous threefold division of thePrehistoric Age – theStone, Bronze andIron Ages – should be further divided with the introduction of the Copper Age.
In 1881,John Evans recognized that use of copper often preceded the use of bronze, and distinguished between atransitional Copper Age and theBronze Age proper. He did not include the transitional period in the Bronze Age, but described it separately from the customary stone/bronze/iron system, at the Bronze Age's beginning. He did not, however, present it as a fourth age but chose to retain thetripartite system.[6]
In 1884,Gaetano Chierici, perhaps following the lead of Evans, renamed it in Italian as theeneo-litica, or "bronze–stone" transition. The phrase was never intended to mean that the period was the only one in which both bronze and stone were used. The Copper Age features the use of copper, excluding bronze; moreover, stone continued to be used throughout both the Bronze Age and theIron Age. The part-litica simply names the Stone Age as the point from which the transition began and is not another-lithic age.[6]
Subsequently, British scholars used either Evans's "Copper Age" or the term "Eneolithic" (or Æneolithic), a translation of Chierici'seneo-litica. After several years, a number of complaints appeared in the literature that "Eneolithic" seemed to the untrained eye to be produced frome-neolithic, "outside the Neolithic", clearly not a definitive characterization of the Copper Age. Around 1900, many writers began to substituteChalcolithic for Eneolithic, to avoid the false segmentation. The term chalcolithic is a combination of two words- Chalco+Lithic, derived from the Greek words "khalkos" meaning "copper", and "líthos" meaning "stone".
But "chalcolithic" could also mislead: For readers unfamiliar with the Italian language,chalcolithic seemed to suggest another-lithic age, paradoxically part of theStone Age despite the use of copper. Today,Copper Age,Eneolithic, andChalcolithic are used synonymously[b] to mean Evans's original definition of Copper Age.[citation needed]
Lead may have been the firstore that humanssmelted, since it can be easily obtained by heatinggalena.[8]
Possible early examples of lead smelting, supported by the extreme rarity of native lead,[9] include: leadbeads, found on Level IX ofChatal/Çatal Hüyük in centralAnatolia, though they might be made of galena,cerussite, ormetallic lead, and accordingly might or might not be evidence of early smelting;[10][9] a lead bead, found in a GK59 group test square in the 4th level ofJarmo, dated to the 7th millennium BCE, though it is small enough that its human usage is doubtful;[11] a lead bracelet, found in level XII ofYarim Tepe I, dated to the 6th millennium BC;[12][13] a small cone-shaped piece of lead, found in the "Burnt House" in TT6 atArpachiyah, dated to the Halaf period or slightly later than the Yarim Tepe bracelet;[13] and more.[8]
Copper smelting is also documented at this site at about the same time period (soon after 6000 BC). However, the use of lead seems to precede copper smelting.[13] Early metallurgy is also documented at the nearby site ofTell Maghzaliyah, which seems to be dated even earlier, and completely lacks pottery.
TheTimna Valley contains evidence of copper mining in 7000–5000 BC. The process of transition fromNeolithic to Chalcolithic in the Middle East is characterized in archaeological stone tool assemblages by a decline in high quality raw material procurement and use. This dramatic shift is seen throughout the region, including theTehran Plain, Iran. Here, analysis of six archaeological sites determined a marked downward trend in not only material quality, but also in aesthetic variation in the lithic artefacts. Fazeli & Coningham[14] use these results as evidence of the loss of craft specialisation caused by increased use of copper tools.[14]
Archaeological evidence from the village of Una in the eastern Caucasus indicates copper mining activities during the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages.[15]
Arsenical copper orbronze was produced in easternTurkey (Malatya Province) at two ancient sites,Norşuntepe andDeğirmentepe, around 4200 BC. According to Boscher (2016),hearths or natural draft furnaces,slag, ore, andpigment had been recovered throughout these sites. This was in the context ofUbaid period architectural complexes typical of southern Mesopotamian architecture. Norşuntepe site demonstrates that some form of arsenic alloying was indeed taking place by the 4th millennium BC. Since the slag identified at Norşuntepe contains no arsenic, this means that arsenic in some form was added separately.[16]
A copper axe found atProkuplje, Serbia contains the oldest securely dated evidence of copper-making,c. 5500 BC (7,500 years ago).[17] The find in June 2010 extends the known record of copper smelting by about 800 years, and suggests that copper smelting may have been invented in separate parts of Asia and Europe at that time rather than spreading from a single source.[4]
Number of metal artefacts found in northern Germany. After a first peak in the late fourth millennium BC, copper disappeared. It only reappeared 1,000 years later at the beginning of the Bronze Age.
In Britain and central and northern Europe a Chalcolithic period has never been defined. However, copper artefacts have been found in archaeological groups.[18] Copper artefacts found in northern Germany and Denmark date from between 4000 and 3300 BC, with most finds dating from 3500 - 3300 BC. They belong to theFunnel Beaker group. The copper was mined in Serbian mines, as researchers from Kiel have recently discovered.[18]
Knowledge of the use of copper was far more widespread than the metal itself. Many European archaeological Cultures used stone axes modeled on copper axes, even with moulding carved in the stone, such as theBattle Axe culture[19] or the late Funnel Beaker Culture.[20]Ötzi the Iceman, who was found in theÖtztal Alps in 1991 and whose remains have been dated to about 3300 BC, was found with aMondsee copper axe.
A painting of a Copper Age walled settlement,Los Millares, Spain
Examples of Chalcolithic cultures in Europe includeVila Nova de São Pedro andLos Millares on theIberian Peninsula.[21] Pottery of theBeaker people has been found at both sites, dating to several centuries after copper-working began there. The Beaker culture appears to have spread copper and bronze technologies in Europe, along withIndo-European languages.[22] In Britain, copper was used between the 25th and22nd centuries BC, but some archaeologists do not recognise a British Chalcolithic because production and use was on a small scale.[23]
Ceramic similarities between theIndus Valley Civilisation, southernTurkmenistan, and northernIran during 4300–3300 BC of the Chalcolithic period suggest considerable mobility and trade.[24]
InBhirrana, the earliest Indus civilization site, copperbangles andarrowheads were found. The inhabitants ofMehrgarh in present-dayPakistan fashioned tools with local copper ore between 7000 and 3300 BC.[26]
TheNausharo site was a pottery workshop in province ofBalochistan, Pakistan, that dates to 4,500 years ago; 12 blades and blade fragments were excavated there. These blades are 12–18 cm (5–7 in) long, 1.2–2.0 cm (0.5–0.8 in) wide, and relatively thin. Archaeological experiments show that these blades were made with a copper indenter and functioned as a potter's tool to trim and shape unfired pottery. Petrographic analysis indicates local pottery manufacturing, but also reveals the existence of a few exotic black-slipped pottery items from theIndus Valley.[27]
In India, Chalcolithic culture flourished in mainly four farming communities –Ahar orBanas,Kayatha,Malwa, andJorwe. These communities had some common traits like painted pottery and use of copper, but they had a distinct ceramic design tradition. Banas culture (2000–1600 BC) had ceramics with red, white, and black design. Kayatha culture (2450–1700 BC) had ceramics painted with brown colored design. Malwa culture (1900–1400 BC) had profusely decorated pottery with red or black colored design. Jorwe culture (1500–900 BC) had ceramics with matte surface and black-on-red design.[28][29]
Pandu Rajar Dhibi (2000–1600 BC) is a Chalcolithic site in the eastern part of theIndian subcontinent. It is located on the south bank ofAjay River inWest Bengal.Blackware, painted Koshi ware, pottery, various ornaments made ofpearl and copper, various types of tools, pieces of fabric woven from Shimul cotton thread, human and various animal skeletons, burnt clay fragments have been found at the site.[30]
In March 2018, archaeologists had discovered three carts and copper artifacts including weapons dating to 1800 BC inSanauli village of Uttar Pradesh. The artifacts belongs toOchre Coloured Pottery culture.[31]
In theArchaeology of the Americas, a five-period system is conventionally used which does not include metal ages, though metalworking technology did precede European contact in some areas.
The term "Chalcolithic" is also applied to American civilizations that already used copper and copperalloys thousands of years before Europeans immigrated. Besides cultures in the Andes and Mesoamerica, theOld Copper complex mined and fabricated copper as tools, weapons, and personal ornaments in an area centered in the upperGreat Lakes region (present-dayMichigan andWisconsin).[33]
The evidence of smelting or alloying that has been found in North America is subject to some dispute and a common assumption by archaeologists is that objects werecold-worked into shape.Artifacts from some of these sites have been dated to 6500–1000 BC, making them some of the oldest Chalcolithic sites in the world.[34] Some archaeologists find artifactual and structural evidence of casting byHopewellian andMississippian peoples to be demonstrated in the archaeological record.[35]
In the 5th millennium BC copper artifacts start to appear in East Asia, such as in theJiangzhai andHongshan cultures, but those metal artifacts were not widely used during this early stage.[36]
Copper manufacturing gradually appeared in theYangshao period (5000–3000 BC).Jiangzhai is the only site where copper artifacts were found in theBanpo culture. Archaeologists have found remains of copper metallurgy in various cultures from the late fourth to the early third millennia BC. These include the copper-smelting remains and copper artifacts of theHongshan culture (4700–2900) and copperslag at the Yuanwozhen site. This indicates that inhabitants of theYellow River valley had already learned how to make copper artifacts by the laterYangshao period.[37]
In the region of theAïr Mountains, Niger, independent copper smelting developed between 3000 and 2500 BC. The process was not in a developed state, indicating smelting was not foreign. It became mature about 1500 BC.[38]
^Middle Eastern archaeologists use "Chalcolithic" regularly, whereas the literature of European archaeology generally avoids the use of "Chalcolithic": The term "Copper Age" is preferred for Western Europe, "Eneolithic" for Eastern Europe. "Chalcolithic" is not generally used by British prehistorians, who disagree as to whether it is appropriate in the British context.[7]
^Allen, Michael J.; Gardiner, Julie; Sheridan, Alison, eds. (2012).Is There a British Chalcolithic?: People, place, and polity in the later third millennium. Prehistoric Society Research Papers. Vol. 4. Oxbow books.ISBN978-1-84217-496-8. —"Abstracted".Oxbow books website. Archived fromthe original on 21 May 2013.
^abMoorey, Peter Roger Stuart (1994).Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence. Oxford University Press. p. 294.ISBN0-19-814921-2.LCCN93-40752.OCLC29255664.
^abCraddock, Paul T. (1995).Early Metal Mining and Production. Smithsonian Institution Press (USA) and Edinburgh University Press (GB). p. 125.ISBN1-56098-535-6.LCCN94-61412.OCLC32769136.
^Braidwood, Linda S.; Braidwood, Robert J.; Howe, Bruce; Reed, Charles A.; Watson, Patty Jo, eds. (1983).Prehistoric Archeology Along the Zagros Flanks(PDF). Oriental Institute Publications. Vol. 105. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 542.ISBN0-918986-36-2.ISSN0069-3367.LCCN81-85896 – via Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago.
^Merpert, N. I.; Munchaev, R. M.; Bader, N. O. (1977). "The Investigations of Soviet Expedition in Iraq 1974".Sumer: A Journal of Archaeology & History in Arab World.XXXIII (1). Baghdad: The State Organization of Antiquities, Ministry of Culture and Arts: 84, 103.PL. XII
^abcPotts, Daniel T., ed. (15 August 2012)."Northern Mesopotamia".A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Vol. 1. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 302–303.ISBN978-1-4443-6077-6 – via Google Books.
^Méry, S.; Anderson, P.; Inizan, M.L.; Lechavallier, M.; Pelegrin, J. (2007). "A pottery workshop with flint tools on blades knapped with copper at Nausharo (Indus civilisationca. 2500 BC)".Journal of Archaeological Science.34 (7):1098–1116.doi:10.1016/j.jas.2006.10.002.
^Chang, Kwang-Chih; Xu, Pingfang; Lu, Liancheng (2005).The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An archaeological perspective. Yale University Press. p. 66.
^Ehret, Christopher (2002).The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia. pp. 136, 137.ISBN0-8139-2085-X.
Parpola, Asko (2005)."Study of the Indus script"(PDF).Transactions. 50th International Conference of Eastern Studies. Tokyo, Japan: The Tôhô Gakkai. pp. 28–66.Archived(PDF) from the original on 21 June 2006.
Bogucki, Peter (2007). "Copper Age of Eastern Europe".The Atlas of World Archaeology. London, UK: Sandcastle Books. p. 66.
Evans, John (1897).The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain. London, UK: Longmans, Green, and Company. p. 197.
Hogan, C. Michael (2007). Burnham, A. (ed.)."Los Silillos".The Megalithic Portal.Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved3 June 2008.
Miles, David (2016).The Tale of the Axe: How the Neolithic revolution transformed Britain. London, UK: Thames & Hudson.ISBN978-0-500-05186-3.
Pleger, T.C. (2002).A brief introduction to the Old Copper Complex of the western Great Lakes: 4000-1000 BC. Twenty-seventh Annual Meeting of Forest History Association of Wisconsin. Oconto, WI: Forest History Association of Wisconsin.
Possehl, Gregory L. (1996). "Mehrgarh". In Fagan, Brian (ed.).Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
