Copperworking Began Near Great Lakes

Across North America's Great Lakes region, the Old Copper complex began working copper around 6500 BCE, more than 8,500 years ago. Archaic peoples collected 99 percent pure copper from surface veins and gravel deposits near Lake Superior, including Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. They shaped it into spearpoints, tools, weapons, and ornaments, then traded copper goods for other materials. By about 1000 BCE, copper use had shifted largely from practical tools to jewelry and status objects.

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