Oldest Known European Metal Tool ? The Start of it all

[Silver Shield]

This small copper hand axe highly corroded, hammered from one large piece of natural occurring copper , much older than say the "ICE MANS" copper axe which dates around 3300 BCE. This axe is a very good candidate as being the" Oldest Known European Metal Tool" Certainly at or before 5500 BCE , from Bulgaria . It fits in the hand just as a Stone Hand Axe with swollen central body, hammered not cast , hammer hardened cutting edge . The oldest reconized published metal tool dates about 5500 BCE , from the Vinca Culture from Plocnick, Serbia
This tool which dates from the initial period of metal use for tools, and weapons , the starting point of all these wonderful metal weapons and Armour ect !

Copper Hand Axe Circa 5500 BCE
Materia: Natural Occurring Copper Nugget or Mass
Weight 238 Grams
Length 13.5 cm
width at widest 1.5cm

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by Silver Shield

It fits in the hand just as a Stone Hand Axe with swollen central body, hammered not cast , hammer hardened cutting edge .

Hello,

interesting example. It was definitely casted before cold hammering, because modern researchers found copper slag in Serbia from 6th millenium B.C..
I added an example of raw copper. I think one cannot forge an axe or chisel directly from raw material, except from copper nuggets but they are quite small.
The manufacturing of copper started around 7500 B.C. in Mesopotamia.

I'm not sure, if we see a chisel or an axe.


Regards,
Roland

[Silver Shield]

I have not read a paper of casting this early ? do you know the author? and Paper? I have look at the open surfaces and seen no micro-porosity under magnification on any exposed surfaces as would be expected in melted or " cast" and the And since I'm not as well versed as I'd like , and slightly dull of mind , I would make a few comments . First slag does not necessarily mean casting but certainly would indicate melting . Second have moulds or patterns been found ? This piece as my comments indicated is heavily corroded , its not flaws in a " Casting " and the Northwestern Indians for one made even large Knifes and such where made from copper masses by hammering . Also this Object is centrally swollen and the distal end has no evidence of percussion on its surviving surfaces nor on the faces around it , the swelling alone would not make sense as a " Chisel" but would and it does as a hand axe. As far as dates we constantly back date as we see how these late stone age humans where amazingly complicated in their technologies .I mainly put this piece on as a curiosity, so members can think back to the beginnings of these wonderful weapons and pieces of armour .

[Roland_M]

Originally Posted by Silver Shield

I have not read a paper of casting this early ? do you know the author? and Paper? I have look at the open surfaces and seen no micro-porosity under magnification on any exposed surfaces as would be expected in melted or " cast" and the And since I'm not as well versed as I'd like , and slightly dull of mind , I would make a few comments . First slag does not necessarily mean casting but certainly would indicate melting . Second have moulds or patterns been found ? This piece as my comments indicated is heavily corroded , its not flaws in a " Casting " and the Northwestern Indians for one made even large Knifes and such where made from copper masses by hammering.

I made a little research and I found out that the biggest copper nuggets have a weight of more than 2 kg or 65 oz. This is big enough to forge a tool without melting.
I think it was melted because they had no tools to forge metal.
I believe, this tools were casted (like the axe of Ötzi) and grinded on a stone.
The corrosion means not much, maybe it got lost in an acid environment.

Here are some sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalcolithic

and probably useless for you but much more informative: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kupfersteinzeit

[Silver Shield]

This thread was started for discourse about origins or weapons ect, and it is good to have discussion of facts and beliefs in a friendly manner . I'm not stating that this axe " Is the Oldest" but it represents the early starting technologies of metal use , and your input of information is good and welcome .Well, as most students of Archeology and Paleoanthropology understand and make allowances for , there is constant changes in ideas and understanding of our past with new information . As far as date .. 7,500 years equals 5,500 BCE( Before the Common Era) BCE used to be call BC but now its consider Politically Incorrect to use "Before Christ". Copper occurs in very Large masses , the largest know mass , was found in 1857 in the US State of Michigan weighing 420 tonnes .As far as casting verses just hammered into shape , maybe I did not include enough information as I did not want to make long and boring thread. The object shows distinct directional layering in its decomposition as would be expected in hammering vs casting , and has" inclusions" that is naturally occurring foreign matter in its composition , and does not have the somewhat characteristic gas bubbles, micro porosity nor rounded pits of casting . The pits that do exist are irregular in their structure and form . I have dug a lot of metal in excavations , and I disagree that the patina is not indicative of its age vs a acidic environment , natural copper is amazingly pure vs other naturally occurring metal masses and its decomposition would usually be a little more uniform in most environments . I have studied a lot of copper dug in the same region too . And the Objects of the period I am suggesting from know sites. I have been as a guest of several foreign governments for Archaeological related reasons , have had easy access to the collections not on display and objects from the same areas usually have a certain look . On hammering , give me a good copper mass, a heat source as in a fires coals and some good hard stone , such as Quartzsite and I guarantee you in a hour or two I could reproduce this Object . Stone as a tool is highly underrated by those who have not used it :-) This is all friendly and I'm not a expert in anything but a student . plus I cannot write nor spell .

Michael P.
Former president and founder of the Central AZ Chapter of the Archeological Institute of America

[David]

Originally Posted by Silver Shield

Michael P.
Former president and founder of the Central AZ Chapter of the American Institute of Archeology

Michael, it's nice to know that we have a former representative from such a prestigious organization, but i am having some trouble locating any informational reference to the American Institute of Archeology on the internet.
I can find the Archaeological Institute of America, the Society for American Archaeology, the Society for Archaeological Sciences, the Society for Historical Archaeology, etc., but no website for your organization. I do find it sometimes listed in resumés here and there so obviously it exists in some capacity. Is it a defunct organization? If not, is there a website we can visit that can explain the work this organization has done?