Storiascopio · Era 2 of 12 · primary year 3
Working with copper
about 7,000 years ago · Europe (Ötzi, Similaun glacier)
In short
Copper was the first metal to be worked: at first it was hammered cold, then people learnt to melt it in fire. The oldest traces of smelted copper, from about 7000 years ago, come from Belovode, in Serbia. In Europe this period is called the Copper Age, or Chalcolithic. Ötzi, the man found in 1991 on the Similaun glacier, between Italy and Austria, was carrying a copper axe.
Why it matters Metals brought a new way of making tools and of trading.
Source: Science News, “Serbian site may have hosted first copper makers”
Where we are in the era “Prehistory”
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about 7 million years agoEvent 23 of 25about 5,300 years ago
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/working-with-copper/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class