Copper metallurgy

Copper metallurgy is the extraction of copper from ores and its transformation by smelting, casting, alloying, and mechanical working into useful objects.

Copper ore: A mineral deposit containing copper in concentrations that can be mined and processed. These minerals supply the copper that smelting separates from rock and other compounds.
Native copper: Copper occurring naturally as metallic copper rather than solely in mineral compounds. Its availability allowed early workers to shape copper before mastering ore smelting.
Copper tools: Implements made from copper, including tools shaped by casting, hammering, or both. They show how copper's softness and availability suited particular cutting and working tasks.
Stone tools: Implements shaped from stone by techniques such as flaking, grinding, or polishing. They preceded copper tools and remained useful where metal was scarce or unsuitable.
Copper trade: The exchange of copper and copper objects between producers, merchants, and consumers. Demand for copper linked distant mining districts with workshops and settlements.
Copper smelting: The high-temperature extraction of copper from sulfide or oxide ores through chemical reactions. Smelting converts prepared ore into copper-bearing metal or matte.
Chalcolithic: The archaeological period in which copper use coexisted with stone tools. Copper metallurgy became a defining practice of this transitional period.
Copper alloy: A metallic material in which copper is combined with one or more other elements. Alloying changes copper's hardness, color, and casting behavior for different objects.
Iron metallurgy: The extraction and working of iron into metal objects and alloys. Iron eventually displaced copper alloys in many tool and weapon applications.
Metallurgy: The science and technology of extracting metals from ores and shaping them into useful materials. Copper working helped establish practices central to metallurgy as a broader field.

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