Copper and How it Helped Humans Evolve Around eight thousand years ago, our ancestors came to know of the metal copper. They had known about gold earlier but Gold was a soft metal which could be used scarcely to change the life. Copper is malleable (can be beaten into thin sheets without breaking) and could hold on to sharp edges that could be used to dig and chip stones. Copper could be easily used to make tools, much easier than stone and this changed humanity forever. The age of metals came which later transformed the whole world.
Why was copper a boon for humanity? Copper can be found in pure form at many places on our planet. The distinct reddish brown color of copper could easily differentiate it from Gold and other metals and minerals. Only gold is the other metal which is found in pure form. The earliest copper used was natural copper which was a bit brittle. Later when copper was accidently exposed to fire before beating; the science of annealing came into being. The annealed copper was pure and stronger.
The experiment continued and the copper was melted and fashioned into copper vessels which were used to store food and water. Another possible accident of heating copper in low oxygen environment led to the discovery of smelting which is the core of almost all metal purification today. This discovery meant copper was purified further increasing its malleability. Now copper could be extracted from impure ores and the revolution towards the metal ages began.
Egyptians the pioneer of innovative uses of copper The first people to use copper were people living in the ancient Mesopotamian region. From here the knowledge was shared with Egyptians who made innovations which made life better. They used it to fashion tools for agriculture like sickles and hoes, and also used copper to make other hand tools like saws and knives. They also used copper for making the first mirrors and the first razors which were used for shaving. Egyptians also improved upon the smelting process which was discovered by Mesopotamians. They used a method of casting known as “lost wax�, where the wax was used to make a mould. Then clay was