Historical periodization identifies several stages in the development of man and human society. Until recently, historians assumed that the Stone Age followed the Bronze Age one after the other. But not so long ago it was established that there was a time gap between them, which was classified as the "copper age". What was the change in the opinion of historians about the gradual transition of mankind from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age? What distinguished this time period from others and what features are inherent in this period in the development of mankind? Read about all this below.
Copper Age Time Frame
The Copper Stone Age, also known as the Eneolithic, originates in the 6th millennium BC and lasts for almost 2,000 years. The time frame of this period had a different meaning depending on the region: in the east and in America it began somewhat earlier than in Europe. It is worth noting that the primitive man began his first acquaintance with copper about 3 thousand years before the beginning of the period in question. It happened onterritories of the Ancient East. Initially, nuggets were taken for a soft stone, amenable to the action of harder rocks, that is, cold forging. And only many centuries later, man learned to melt copper and cast many useful items from it: needles, jewelry, spearheads and arrows.
Further development of the metal marked the beginning of such a period as the copper-bronze age, when methods and technologies for the manufacture of alloys became known to man, which, in their characteristics, were better than pure copper. In a word, this period is very significant in the historical development of mankind and civilization as a whole.
Why copper?
The Copper Age in archaeological and historical periodization is characterized by the beginning of the use of metal tools by primitive man, namely copper. This led to the gradual replacement of stone and bone tools with softer, but at the same time easy-to-use axes, knives, and scrapers made from it. In addition, the development of methods for processing this metal allowed a person to make, albeit simple, but at the same time more original and sophisticated jewelry and figurines. The Copper Age marked the beginning of a new round of stratification in primitive society on the basis of well-being: the more copper a person had, the higher the status in society he had.
Economic activity of man in the Copper Age
Awareness of the value of copper as a medium of exchange between tribes and as the main material forthe manufacture of many devices contributed to the active development of early handicraft industries. It was the Copper Age that laid the foundation for the emergence of such crafts as ore mining, metalworking and metallurgy. At the same time, such a phenomenon as specialized agriculture and animal husbandry spread. Pottery during this period also acquired new features.
Trade also developed actively during this period. At the same time, the tribes that mined copper and produced various products from it could exchange with those who were far beyond the borders of their settlement. This is evidenced by the fact that items made of copper mined in the Near East region and the Middle East were found in Europe.
Archaeological finds from the Copper Age
The most characteristic and striking finds that date back to the Copper Age are figurines of women. This is due primarily to the worldview of the people who lived in the Eneolithic. The greatest value for them was the harvest and fertility, which just symbolized such products. At the same time, a large number of them are made of clay, not metal.
Painting on pottery also depicted women and the world around them. According to the ideas of people who lived in the copper age, the world was divided into three components: the Earth with plants, animals and people, the Middle Sky, radiating the sun's rays, and the Upper Sky, filled with rain, filling the rivers and nourishing the earth.
In addition to products endowed with a sacred meaning of being, archaeologists find knives made frompure copper or bone, tips, needles and more.
