Excavations at a 7,000-year-old site in southeastern Turkey suggest metallurgy may have originated earlier and more independently than previously thought. Researchers at Çayönü uncovered slag and a copper bead in a structure interpreted as a workshop, dating to around 5000 BCE. The presence of crucible fragments, ore, and furnace evidence indicates on-site smelting rather than cold-hammered native metal use. This challenges the belief that metallurgy was first developed in the southern Lev...
