Was copper the first metal used by humankind?

Antiquity knew seven metals [1], of which three (copper, gold and silver) can be found in their native form [2]. Also iron and mercury exist in their native form, but their occurrence is rather rare.

While we may never be 100% certain whether copper was the very first or one of the first three metals, one could speculate that copper lies at the origin of human metal use due to its relative abundance compared to gold or silver.

The first uses for copper were jewellery, tools, sculpture, bells, vessels, lamps, amulets, and death masks [3].

References

[1] The metals of antiquity are the seven metals which humans had identified and found use for in prehistoric times: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, iron, and mercury. https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/metals-of-antiquity/m03d5mt1?hl=en (checked October 22, 2021)

[2] A native metal is any metal that is found in its metallic form in nature.

[3] https://www.worldhistory.org/copper/ (checked October 22, 2021)

-----

Last update: May 12, 2023