For decades, archaeologists have sought to reconstruct the history of metallurgy in human prehistory. A study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports by a team of researchers from Kocaeli University (Turkey) has revealed that the last hunter-gatherers of Anatolia not only knew about copper but may have carried out experimental metallurgical processes more than 9,000 years ago.
The archaeological site of Gre Fılla, located in the upper Tigris Valley, has been under excavation since 2018. In the layers corresponding to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), researchers have identified architectural structures, copper objects, and a vitrified material that could be linked to early pyrometallurgical activities.
Copper metallurgy is traditionally considered a technology that emerged during the Chalcolithic, around 4000 BCE, when Neolithic societies were already well established. However, the findings at Gre Fılla challenge this chronology, suggesting that copper processing may have begun much earlier.
The team analyzed a series of objects and fragments using advanced techniques such as X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Among the most intriguing elements is a copper bar-shaped object and a vitrified material with small embedded copper droplets.
The vitrified material, designated GRE-VRF, exhibits a fluid texture on one side and a depression on the other, suggesting that it was in contact with a container or structure when exposed to high temperatures. Its chemical composition reveals traces of chromium- and iron-rich minerals, which are characteristic of experimental metallurgical processes.
One of the most debated aspects of metallurgical archaeology is the transition from cold working of native copper to high-temperature smelting. Until now, the earliest evidence of smelting had been found at Yumuktepe, in Anatolia, dating to 5000 BCE. However, the remains at Gre Fılla, dated to around 8000 BCE, could change this narrative.
“Our analyses suggest that the copper was exposed to temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius, indicating a much more advanced control of fire than previously thought for this period,” the researchers explain.
A Copper Object That Raises Questions
Lead isotope analyses have revealed that the metal from the copper bar-shaped object does not come from the nearby Ergani mines but from more distant sources in the Black Sea region, in Trabzon or Artvin. This suggests long-distance exchange networks, reinforcing the idea that knowledge of copper was already significant during this period.
Moreover, the purity of the copper in the object suggests that it may have been refined in some way, raising the possibility that these ancient inhabitants were not only experimenting with fire but had also developed some form of technique to improve the quality of the metal.
If it is confirmed that the inhabitants of Gre Fılla were experimenting with copper smelting, this discovery would require a reassessment of the origins of metallurgy. The transition from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic may have been much more gradual and may have involved an experimental phase that has so far gone unnoticed in the archaeological record.
The study also reinforces the idea that technological innovation did not occur uniformly but that different communities developed their own practices and adaptations based on their needs and resources. In this sense, metallurgy may have emerged in multiple locations and at different times.
SOURCES
Üftade Muşkara, Seda Karayünlü Bozbaş, Mustafa B. Telli, Ayşin Konak, Early copper production by the last hunter-gatherers. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 62, April 2025, 105051. doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105051
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