Talk:Copper Age
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is part of WikiProject Archaeology, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to archaeology on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. | |
| Stub | This article has been rated as stub-Class on the assessment scale. | |
| ??? | This article has not yet received an importance rating on the assessment scale. | |
 |
It is requested that a map or maps be included in this article to improve its quality. |
Contents |
[edit] Misplaced or Undefined Pronoun
The following set of paragraphs is rather disjointed, and hops from one topic to another. The organization results in one or more pronouns "it" that are unintelligible in what the actual referent is. Also several statements of rather specific points would benefit from citation.
During 4300 - 3200 BC of chalcolithic period (Copper Age), Indus Valley Civilization area shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran which suggest considerable mobility and trade.[1]
The literature of European archaeology generally avoids the use of 'chalcolithic' (they prefer the term 'Copper Age'), while Middle-Eastern archaeologists regularly use it. The Copper Age began much earlier in the Middle East, while the transition from the European Copper Age to its own full-fledged Bronze Age is far more rapid.
The period is a transitional one outside of the traditional three-age system, and occurs between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. It appears that copper was not widely exploited at first and that efforts in alloying it with tin and other metals began quite soon, making distinguishing the distinct Chalcolithic cultures and periods difficult.
Because of this it is usually only applied by archaeologists in some parts of the world, mainly south-east Europe and Western and Central Asia where it appears around the 4th millennium BC. Less commonly, it is also applied to American civilizations which already used copper and copper alloys at the time of European conquest. The Old Copper Complex, located in present day Michigan and Wisconsin, is the oldest known site in the new world, and one of the oldest sites in the world, where copper was utilized for tools and other implements. Artefacts from these sites have been dated from 6000 to 3000 BC. [1]
Since I'm not an authority, but "only" a reader, I suggest the following revisions, if they make sense to an authority. I also include further suggested edits inside brackets. In the brackets, words before a slash are those that appear in the article, and words after the slash are my suggested edit.
During 4300 - 3200 BC of the Chalcolithic Period (Copper Age), the Indus Valley Civilization area shows ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran that suggest considerable mobility and trade.[1] The period is a transitional one outside of the traditional three-age system, and the period occurs between the Neolithic and Bronze Age. It appears that copper was not widely exploited at first[This needs a citation, I believe.] and that efforts in alloying [DELETE:it/ADD:copper] with tin and other metals began quite soon,[Needs a citiation.] making distinguishing the distinct Chalcolithic cultures and periods difficult. The Copper Age began much earlier in the Middle East, while the transition from the European Copper Age to its own full-fledged Bronze Age [DELETE:is/ADD:was] far more rapid.
The literature of European archaeology generally avoids the use of 'chalcolithic' ([DELETE:they/ADD:identify one or two noted authors here, with citation] prefer the term 'Copper Age'), while [DELETE ENTIRE BRACKETED MATERIAL:Middle-Eastern archaeologists[identify one or two authors here] regularly use [it/'chalcolithic' period]. Because of this it is usually only applied by] archaeologists in some parts of the world, mainly south-east Europe and Western and Central Asia[REMOVE: where it appears around/ADD:, have used 'chalcolithic' period since about] the 4th millennium BC.[Needs a citation. It seems strange to me that writers of the 40th C-BC would be naming their own archeology!]
Less commonly, [DELETE:it is/ADD: the terms are[if both terms are used in this case]] also applied to American civilizations which [DELETE:already used/ADD:were using] copper and copper alloys at the time of European conquest. The Old Copper Complex, located in present-day Michigan and Wisconsin, is the oldest known site in the new world, and one of the oldest sites in the world, where copper was utilized for tools and other implements. [DELETE:Artefacts/ADD:Artifacts] from these sites have been dated from 6000 to 3000 BC.[1]
Tgkohn 16:24, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Vucedol culture
Ok, where should I place the article on Vucedol culture? It is an eneolithic culture.
- I moved it to Vucedol culture. adamsan 08:43, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ok, but you don't mention much about eneolithic cultures in the main article, so if sb wants to learn more about eneolithic they will receive infos in general (eneolithic in Britain), without links to other European cultures during that time. That's why I placed my article under yours.
- That's why we link periods in the articles but all Category:Archaeological cultures get their own articles. This page is about the chalcolithic in general- specialist areas go on separate pages. You can add as many links as you like to Vucedol culture from pages that relate to it (regions, time periods, artefact types, famous sites etc etc). adamsan 10:42, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ok, I was just wondering how sb would find out more about particular instance, logic is that you start from a general idea and then elaborate it. Deduction is not possible here, i.e. your article is not linked to mine, although it should be since it deals with the same topic.
- Sure, the article will grow as people contribute more to it. You could add a sentence like "Eneolithic cultures include...." and then add some examples like the Vucedol. Even better, you could start a whole new paragraph on the Eneolithic of the whole region and link it from there too. Look at Iron Age whre there are different paragraphs for different regions, which then link to longer local discussions and articles on individual groups and monument types.
- Just put a pair of square brackets like this [[Eneolithic]] , around a word to make a link within the text to it. The general idea is articles should not go into too much depth though as each page is limited to 32k in size and there wouldn't be room for every Chalcolithic culture in the same article. If you want to help organise the structure of archaeological articles you could join the archaeology Wikiproject. adamsan 11:40, 31 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ok, thanks for the advice. There are not many cultures like this, as far as I know, might make a summary indeed.
[edit] Mold marks
"The European Battle Axe culture used stone axes modelled on copper axes, with imitation "mold marks" carved in the stone." Fascinating! Can someone supply a picture? (Maybe with a molded copper ax for comparison) Mcswell (talk) 03:42, 15 January 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Copper/Stone Age
On the List_of_archaeological_periods at the last entry for stone age in states Chalcolithic but that redirects you to the Copper Age. Is the copper age within the Stone Age or something?
never mind for get that.
- I believe the Chalcolithic period is characterized by contemporaneous use of stone and copper tools. Ötzi the Iceman is an example; he carried a copper axe, a flint knife and flint tipped arrows. --Andyt. 13:53, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Chalcolithic Page
On the Chalcolithic it states: The Copper Age began much earlier in the Middle East, while the transition from the European Copper-Age to its own full-fledged Bronze-Age is far more rapid.
The above sentance is unclear. It could mean that the Copper Age started earlier in the Middle East than in Europe, but the Europeans entered the Bronze Age before the Middle East. Or it could mean that the Bronze Age first started in the Middle East but that Europe transitioned from Copper to Bronze more rapidly than the Europeans transitioned from stone to copper.
The next sentance makes no sense: Basically, the Europeans treated their prestige copper/bronze objects rather much like they did their stone objects, whereas the Middle-East had progressed beyond this.
How had the Middle East progressed beyond this? In what way did the Europeans treat their prestige objects? Are we talking about grave goods? Sacrificial items? In other words there is no context to this sentance. --Andyt. 14:31, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
- Right. As no one has fixed that nonsensical statement, I'm removing it now. --Jquarry 05:47, 10 November 2006 (UTC)
My big question is just how did stone age man discover netals. You can't just look at a piece of metallic ore and deduce that it will produce a metal. Ok it would have been an accident of some sort in the first place but what sort of 'accident'. The temperatures necessary to refine an ore cannot be produced in, say, a campfire. Not for copper and certainly not for iron. Just how did a primitive man discover a metal?? Then to move on from copper to bronze. The alloying of metals is a very complicated process I can tell you, having spent 20 years of my life as a steelworks metallurgist. How on earth, having discovered copper did a man find that by adding a certain amount of tin he could make a harder, more efficient blade?? "Tin? what's that" I can imagine him asking. David Evans —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.220.221.43 (talk) 04:49, August 25, 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Copper/Stone Age2
Currently: Is the Copper Age considered to be part of the Stone Age, part of the Bronze Age, or separate from both of them (in between them)?
Also, is the Copper Age part of the Neolithic age, or is it separate from it (after it)?
Also, I think the terms Stone Age and Bronze Age were created before the term Copper Age was created. So back before the Copper Age was created, were the years that it includes considered to be part of the Stone Age or the Bronze Age? - Shaheenjim 20:20, 17 October 2007 (UTC)
