Humans Meet Metal
Between seven and ten thousand years ago, our early ancestors
discovered that copper is malleable, holds a sharp edge,
and could be fashioned into tools, ornaments, and weapons
more easily than stone, a discovery that would change humanity
forever. This meeting of humans and metals would be the first
step out of the Stone Age and into the ages of metals: the
Bronze and Iron Ages. Thus began the increased movement of
elements and minerals out of their parent geological formations
and into the air, soil, water, and living organisms by way
of smelters, furnaces and mine tailings.
The first several thousand years of copper production contributed
little to global or even local pollution. Copper is not very
toxic in comparison to other metals and early humans used
too little of it to begin concentrating it in soil, air,
or water to the extent that it would affect human health
or ecosystems. It appears that during the first few thousand
years of its use, humans experiment with and learned techniques
to utilize copper. As they got better at working with it,
civilizations became more complex, which in turn often enabled
better copper-working technology. With this came expanded
use of copper and a greater movement of copper into our everyday
environment.