[wildbill]

If you were going to expend all that labor on mining and presumably refining copper from raw ore, wouldn’t you have to have an end plan? Like making utensils, or weapons or something useful to a primitive culture??

But as far as I know, there are no artifacts from that period that have been located in or near the mining site. Or anywhere is the North American continent???d

Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?

[Sirius Lee]

But as far as I know, there are no artifacts from that period that have been located in or near the mining site. Or anywhere is the North American continent???

I don't know about 6 millennia ago, but 5 millennia ago...

Copper knife, spear points, awls, and spade, from the Late Archaic period, Wisconsin, 3000 BC-1000 BC.

[SunkenCiv]

The copper mined in the UP wound up all over North America, but the urban populations in NA were rare -- so most of the copper did indeed end up in Central America.

Too bad, too, in my misspent youth I was beguiled by the possibility that, despite the logistical problems (Niagara Falls for one thing), the copper had wound up shipped out to the Mediterranean basin.

A good deal more is known about European and African (and Middle Eastern, and southern Asian) copper sources now.

[logi_cal869]

But as far as I know, there are no artifacts from that period that have been located in or near the mining site. Or anywhere is the North American continent???

I thought the same until going down the bunny hole after seeing this post.