History of Copper

Archaeological evidence demonstrates that Copper was used as far back as 10,000 years ago for items such as ornaments in western Asia. During the prehistoric Chalcolithic Period (derived from chalkos, the Greek word for Copper), man discovered how to extract and use Copper to produce ornaments and implements.

As early as the 4th to 3rd millennium BC, workers extracted Copper from Spain's Huelva region. The discovery that Copper, when alloyed with tin produces bronze, led to the Bronze Age, c. 2500 BC. Israel's Timna Valley provided Copper to the Pharaohs (an Egyptian papyrus records the use of Copper to treat infections and to sterilize water).

Cyprus supplied much of the Phoenician, Greek, and Roman needs for Copper. "Copper" is derived from the latin Cyprium, literally Cyprian metal. While the Greeks of Aristotle's era were familiar with brass, as a Copper alloy, it was under Augustus' Imperial Rome that brass came into being. In South America, the pre-Columbian Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations exploited Copper, in addition to gold and silver.

During the Middle Ages, Copper and bronze works flourished in China, India, and Japan. The discoveries and inventions relating to electricity and magnetism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries by scientists such as Ampere, Faraday, and Ohm, and the products manufactured from Copper, helped launch the Industrial Revolution and propel Copper into a new era. Today, Copper continues to serve society's needs.

The above information has been provided by The International Copper Study Group.