The Old Copper complex or Old Copper culture is an

archaeological culture An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...

from the Archaic period of North America's

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

region. Artifacts from some of these sites have been dated from 6500 to 1580 BCE. It is characterized by widespread

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

artifacts, including tools and weapons, as well as ornamental objects. The archeological evidence of

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

or alloying is subject to some dispute, and it is commonly believed that objects were cold-worked into shape. Furthermore, some archaeologists are convinced by the artifactual and structural evidence for metal casting by Hopewellian and Mississippian peoples.

Western Great Lakes

The Old Copper complex of the Western Great Lakes is the best known, and can be dated as far back as 9,500 years ago.

natives of the Archaic period located 99% pure copper near

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

, in veins touching the surface and in nuggets from gravel beds. Major quarries were located on Isle Royale, the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

, and the Brule River, and copper was deposited elsewhere by glaciation as well. Evidence of mining, deep holes chipped into the rock, can be found in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, and around

. By heating, annealing and hammering, these cultures worked the copper into shape and produced a variety of spearpoints, tools and decorative objects. In addition to their own use, the Copper Complex peoples traded copper goods for other exotic materials. By about 3,000 years ago copper was increasingly restricted to jewelry and other status-related items, rather than tools. This is thought to represent the development of more complex social hierarchies in the area. The Copper Culture State Park, in Oconto, northeastern

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, contains an ancient burial ground used by the Old Copper complex culture between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago. It was rediscovered in June 1952 by a 13-year-old boy who unearthed human bones while playing in an old quarry. By July the first archaeological dig was started by the Wisconsin Archaeological Survey.Rootsweb: Original 1952 report and photographs of the Copper Culture burial site
– from the first archaeological dig – accessed 4.14.2013

Other locations

Copper is known to have been traded from the

region to other parts of North America. However, there were also other sources of copper, including in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

near the Etowah Site in Georgia.Welch (1991), Moundville's Economy : 184 The Mississippian copper plates were made by a process of annealing. Ancient copper artifacts are found over a very wide range, all around the Great Lakes region, and far south into what is now the United States.

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Western Great Lakes

Other locations

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Further reading