when did copper working first appear in europe
Metallurgy during the Copper Age in Europe
Stone tools : The most frequent find are the stone hammers , normally made of hard rocks accessible to the mine , beach or river pebbles ( Jovanovic 1980 , Craddock 1995 ) . There is no standardization of these mauls but is common a system of hafting , usually a groove carved in the middle for where a rope was tied to the handle , like the twisted hazel recovered in Copa Hill ( Timberlake 2003 ; 32 - 33 ) . Antler and bone tools : Picks and scrapes made of bone and antlers have been found in the majority of the mines ( Craddock 1995 ) . Wood : Evidence of wooden tools are more infrequent . Nevertheless in places like Ai Bunar or Mount Gabriel were recovered shovels and wedges . A rudimentary system of stairs or scaffoldings can be supposed ( Mohen 1992 ) . Metal : The use of any metallic tool is rather strange and extraordinary . It seems that the copper was not used for the miners ' tools . However copper chisels and discarded axes could be utilized as wedges . ( Craddock 1995 ; 97 ) Other evidence : The presence of coal and charcoal , crucial for the firing ( fire - setting ) and furnace ( fuel ) , is habitual . Leather sacks ( at Ai Bunar ) and shoulder baskets ( at Copa Hill ) were used to transport the crushed mineral .
Stone tools : The most frequent find are the stone hammers , normally made of hard rocks accessible to the mine , beach or river pebbles ( Jovanovic 1980 , Craddock 1995 ) . There is no standardization of these mauls but is common a system of hafting , usually a groove carved in the middle for where a rope was tied to the handle , like the twisted hazel recovered in Copa Hill ( Timberlake 2003 ; 32 - 33 ) . Antler and bone tools : Picks and scrapes made of bone and antlers have been found in the majority of the mines ( Craddock 1995 ) . Wood : Evidence of wooden tools are more infrequent . Nevertheless in places like Ai Bunar or Mount Gabriel were recovered shovels and wedges . A rudimentary system of stairs or scaffoldings can be supposed ( Mohen 1992 ) . Metal : The use of any metallic tool is rather strange and extraordinary . It seems that the copper was not used for the miners ' tools . However copper chisels and discarded axes could be utilized as wedges . ( Craddock 1995 ; 97 ) Other evidence : The presence of coal and charcoal , crucial for the firing ( fire - setting ) and furnace ( fuel ) , is habitual . Leather sacks ( at Ai Bunar ) and shoulder baskets ( at Copa Hill ) were used to transport the crushed mineral .