Copper in the Western Hemisphere
Copper in the Western Hemisphere
The Native Americans of South America used copper tools and weapons long before the European invasion of their land. As early as 700 A.D., the Chimu of coastal Peru were making bronze. They influenced neighboring cultures in Ecuador and central Peru.
The Inca Empire of Peru was near to the great copper and tin deposits of Bolivia. While copper was used for spears and axes, bronze implements were beginning to appear at the time of the invasion by Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish Conquistadors. Magnificent works of art in gold and silver attracted the Spanish to Inca land. Alas, most of the treasure was melted down and shipped to Spain. Gold, silver and copper mining continues to this day in Peru. Copper and tin are still mined in Bolivia.
Native American copper mines have been found in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, along the southern shore of Lake Superior. Spearheads and other hammered copper implements have been found there as well. The great purity of the copper nuggets in Michigan made other types of metallurgy unnecessary. The pure, malleable copper needed only to be beaten into the desired shape.
Mexico and Central America were home for other great Native American civilizations. The Aztecs of Mexico were master goldsmiths and silversmiths. Mexico, too, was a vast storehouse of mineral wealth. They had hammered copper implements when conquered by Hernando Cortes and his Conquistadors in 1521.
In northern Mexico, in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, copper deposits were found. There, the Cananea and Nacozari mines made up one of the world's great copper districts.
Chile, today, is the world's largest copper producer. However, the great Chilean copper mines are of a type first exploited in the United States, at Bingham Canyon, in Utah. But more of that below...
Geology
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