Old Copper Culture peoples in Iowa

[JEFF420]

Hey folks,


I'm looking for your stories, your family stories, and finds....

I am originally from west central iowa where there were copper artifacts found on the surface after settlement (1850+)...

This map doesn't show copper influence but it was further southwest and I have an article from 1914 to prove it (still trying to locate a copper knife in private collection).

This is really a new and growing historical look at North American on a different scale. Copper mined in the Great Lakes region 9000-5000 years ago made it to the Missouri River Valley....

 

[Cyientist]

Interesting, I didn’t know this was a thing. Good luck!

 

[JEFF420]

Interesting, I didn’t know this was a thing. Good luck!

 

[pourcyne]

Hadn't heard about that in Iowa. Did hear about copper when I visited the Cahokia Mounds east of St. Louis a few years back.

Cahokia Mounds Hosted Only Copper Works In North America

Cahokia Mounds in Fairmont City attracts a diverse group of history buffs, who are visiting one of North America’s most important historic sites, and…

www.stlpr.org

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440311000793

Mound 34 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Google lists several other sites if you're interested in reading more.

 

[JEFF420]

Hadn't heard about that in Iowa. Did hear about copper when I visited the Cahokia Mounds east of St. Louis a few years back.

Cahokia Mounds Hosted Only Copper Works In North America

Cahokia Mounds in Fairmont City attracts a diverse group of history buffs, who are visiting one of North America’s most important historic sites, and…

www.stlpr.org

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440311000793

Mound 34 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Google lists several other sites if you're interested in reading more.

oh its amazing. Copper found and mined (surface mostly) can be connected via lead isotopes to finds as far south as Georgia!!!

I'm attempting to write a book on these peoples in Western Iowa.


Dickinson County has a copper spear point found..

There is a mega-site at a quarry in Turin that found a old cache in 1955 (no copper but old red ocher)....

 

[JEFF420]

BUT. no one knows why we had a old copper culture across the midwest 9000-5000 bp but when french fur traders came in contact with peoples in the 1400-1500s... there was no copper being used. only course rock tools... can post the links to Native stories as it why it went away if people are interested

 

[CyTuT]

I thought it might be due to superstitions, but Grok has another idea:

The Old Copper Complex, an Archaic-period archaeological culture (ca. 6000–1000 BCE) centered in the western Great Lakes region, extended into parts of Iowa, where Native Americans mined and cold-hammered native copper from Lake Superior sources into functional tools such as projectile points, axes, knives, adzes, and harpoons, as well as some ornaments. This tradition represents one of the earliest known metalworking practices in the world, yet it relied entirely on annealing and hammering pure copper nuggets rather than smelting. Large-scale production of copper tools ended millennia before European contact, likely due to technological shifts (e.g., adoption of the bow and arrow favoring smaller stone points) and depletion of easily accessible surface deposits; by the historic period (after ~1500 CE), Iowa’s indigenous groups, as observed by fur traders, primarily used stone, bone, and wood tools, with copper limited to rare ornamental items obtained through trade.

 

[Entropy]

I can remember seeing copper pits on Isle Royale that were supposed to be from Native Americans mining it.

 

[JEFF420]

I can remember seeing copper pits on Isle Royale that were supposed to be from Native Americans mining it.

its pretty well accepted at this point.

 

[CyTuT]

Sorry, if this is annoying. I find this thread fascinating. This is what Grok replied to- mainly to add context:

Yes, the copper pits on Isle Royale are well-documented remnants of ancient Native American mining, part of the Old Copper Complex that dates back over 4,500 years and involved extracting pure copper from surface veins and pits, with over 1,000 such sites identified on the island. This mining activity, peaking around 6,000 years ago, supplied copper for tools and trade across the Great Lakes region, including influences on Iowa’s Archaic cultures as previously discussed. Evidence shows Indigenous peoples used stone hammers to quarry the metal, leaving behind shallow pits and fissures up to 12 feet deep.

 

[JEFF420]

I thought it might be due to superstitions, but Grok has another idea:

The Old Copper Complex, an Archaic-period archaeological culture (ca. 6000–1000 BCE) centered in the western Great Lakes region, extended into parts of Iowa, where Native Americans mined and cold-hammered native copper from Lake Superior sources into functional tools such as projectile points, axes, knives, adzes, and harpoons, as well as some ornaments. This tradition represents one of the earliest known metalworking practices in the world, yet it relied entirely on annealing and hammering pure copper nuggets rather than smelting. Large-scale production of copper tools ended millennia before European contact, likely due to technological shifts (e.g., adoption of the bow and arrow favoring smaller stone points) and depletion of easily accessible surface deposits; by the historic period (after ~1500 CE), Iowa’s indigenous groups, as observed by fur traders, primarily used stone, bone, and wood tools, with copper limited to rare ornamental items obtained through trade.

I think its a combo of a large climate change (heat and drought) about 4-5000 BP... this led to a moving of locations, the easiest of copper was already mined.....

For some reason, they stopped producing copper... either they moved out of the area and the peoples who knew the copper production died off when they returned? They thought the gods were mad and they rejected copper for use... This could be due to wars with others for the land? idk.. all copper in use slowly broke or was buried in honor over years.. no one really knows.

The Native stories have a few different tales but mostly led to copper being bad..

1: "a moral story about not showing your wealth and it bringing attention from the lakota to the west."
2: "The end of the copper age alot was recycled, some still worn, some burried in the mounds but the rest was thrown back into the lake. Because the copper is Mishupishus scales."


MISHUPISHUS IS AN UNDERWATER PANTHER WHO PROTECTED THE LAKES!!!

 

[intrepid27]

Not Iowa related up there's a newer hotel in Savannah that has an amazing/ rock/gemstone/fossil l display in their main lobby. They have a couple of copper nuggets from lake Michigan that are 3-4 feet tall. Planning to take our grandson to north end of UP this summer to go rockhounding. Any tips or suggestions are welcome.

 

[JEFF420]

bump for afternoon folks who dont wanna work and wanna learn about prehistoric peopels

 

[CYCLNST8]

I find pre-Columbian Iowa history fascinating as well. Cool thread idea!

Unrelated to copper- I recently discovered my in-laws have 3 burial mounds within walking distance of their house in Cedar Rapids. The recently opened Linn County "Bird Preserve" features an "Archaeology Spur" as part of its trail system. You can see where they cleared a bit of forest to expose the mounds. They would have had a nice view of a bend in the Cedar River before woods took over the area. The biggest one in the middle was dug into from the top (not uncommon). I'd bet the natives would over-winter along Morgan Creek. You could probably find a lot of cool artifacts in that area.

 

[CascadeClone]

I find pre-Columbian Iowa history fascinating as well. Cool thread idea!

Unrelated to copper- I recently discovered my in-laws have 3 burial mounds within walking distance of their house in Cedar Rapids. The recently opened Linn County "Bird Preserve" features an "Archaeology Spur" as part of its trail system. You can see where they cleared a bit of forest to expose the mounds. They would have had a nice view of a bend in the Cedar River before woods took over the area. The biggest one in the middle was dug into from the top (not uncommon). I'd bet the natives would over-winter along Morgan Creek. You could probably find a lot of cool artifacts in that area.

That's crazy, it's less than 2 miles from my house. Have to check it out.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

oh its amazing. Copper found and mined (surface mostly) can be connected via lead isotopes to finds as far south as Georgia!!!

I'm attempting to write a book on these peoples in Western Iowa.


Dickinson County has a copper spear point found..

There is a mega-site at a quarry in Turin that found a old cache in 1955 (no copper but old red ocher)....

The Cahokia mounds is a great place to visit, 10 to 15 minutes at most from St. Louis, you go up the largest mound and at the top see the city in the distance. Great visitors center, really interesting place to visit if you are into those types of things.

 

[2122]

Natives quarried chert at a site 1.5 miles NW of Grand Meadow, MN since around 10,000 years ago. They made stone tools out of it. Like 10 miles north of the Iowa border. They dug as far as 15 feet down to get the chert nodules. The ground is still littered with the debitage they left behind. Last year, an interpretive center/trail was opened to the public there. Pretty interesting if you are into the ancients.

 

[mkadl]

oh its amazing. Copper found and mined (surface mostly) can be connected via lead isotopes to finds as far south as Georgia!!!

I'm attempting to write a book on these peoples in Western Iowa.


Dickinson County has a copper spear point found..

There is a mega-site at a quarry in Turin that found a old cache in 1955 (no copper but old red ocher)....

The Loess hills have on some the dead end spines, burials that have either just sunk into the ground or have been dug up. A client of mine lived by the "town" of Orson. She told me where to look and I found them. This was in the 90s, I emailed someone at the University of Iowa because they had research posted on the web in that area. After I gave them the coordinates, they emailed back confirming that those were burials. The Little Sioux River ran right next to the Loess Hills at that time. It has been straighted and the land drained. It was by Smith Lake and the Little Sioux State forest Trailhead. Also east over the spine from 6 mile creek in eastern Harrison County, there is a field that in the 90s before minimum tillage I would walk the fields in the spring there and pick up chert bird points mostly white.
Also found what I believe are clay marbles almost perfectly round.

 

[somecyguy]

My ancestors migrated from England and Wales to the Keweenaw Peninsula in the early to mid 1800s and a couple generations worked in the copper mines, one of them in the Quincy mine which supplied a crazy high percentage of copper to the country for years. Super isolated from the rest of the country, but fun to visit.

 

[JEFF420]

The Loess hills have on some the dead end spines, burials that have either just sunk into the ground or have been dug up. A client of mine lived by the "town" of Orson. She told me where to look and I found them. This was in the 90s, I emailed someone at the University of Iowa because they had research posted on the web in that area. After I gave them the coordinates, they emailed back confirming that those were burials. The Little Sioux River ran right next to the Loess Hills at that time. It has been straighted and the land drained. It was by Smith Lake and the Little Sioux State forest Trailhead. Also east over the spine from 7 mile creek in eastern Harrison County, there is a field that in the 90s before minimum tillage I would walk the fields in the spring there and pick up chert bird points mostly white.
Also found what I believe are clay marbles almost perfectly round.

you will like this: https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/13713/galley/122152/view/