chalcolithic / copper age

The Chalcolithic (English: /ˌkælkəˈlɪθɪk/),^[1] a name derived from the Greek: χαλκός khalkós, "copper" and from λίθος líthos, "stone"^[1] or Copper Age,^[1] also known as the Eneolithic^[1] or Aeneolithic^[2] (from Latin aeneus "of copper") is an archaeological period which researchers usually regard as part of the broader Neolithic (although scholars originally defined it as a transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age). In the context of Eastern Europe, archaeologists often prefer the term "Eneolithic" to "Chalcolithic" or other alternatives. In the Chalcolithic period, copper predominated in metalworking technology. Hence it was the period before it was discovered that adding tinto copper formed bronze (a harder and stronger metal). The archaeological site of Belovode, on Rudnik mountain in Serbia has the oldest securely-dated evidence of copper smelting, from 7000 BP (c. 5000 BC). The Copper Age in the Ancient Near East began in the late 5th millennium BC and lasted for about a millennium before it gave rise to the Early Bronze Age. The transition from the European Copper Age to Bronze Age Europe occurs about the same time, between the late 5th and the late 3rd millennia BC.

cyprus 
- village of lempa - chalcolithic settlement


israel
- Tel Tsaf is a Middle Chalcolithic village that dates back to 5200-4600 BCE and is situated close to the Jordan River and international border with Jordan. First documentation of the site was in the 1950s, while excavations started toward the end of 1970s. This village has become the most significant archaeological spot in Middle East, providing a huge amount of valuable data to researchers, until now with the recent research conducted by researchers of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology and Department of Archaeology at University of Haifa, together with researchers of Hebrew University of Jerusalem and German Archaeological Institute of Berlin.A metal object, a copper awl that dates back to the early 5th millennium or late 6th millennium BCE, was discovered in the Middle East during excavations at Tel Tsaf, making it the oldest metal object found to date in the region,The copper awl is a cone-shaped object merely four centimeters long and one millimeter thick. It is the most significant finding to date in this site, discovered by Hebrew University professor Yosef Garfinkel in the sealed grave of a woman who was around 40 years old.“The appearance of the item in a woman’s grave, which represents one of the most elaborate burials we’ve seen in our region from that era, testifies to both the importance of the awl and the importance of the woman,”Awls are sharp, pointed objects used as tools, perhaps for making holes or marking surfaces.http://www.techtimes.com/articles/13864/20140824/scientists-unearth-7-000-year-old-copper-awl-oldest-metal-object-in-middle-east.htm