One of the foundational myths of the United States is that American Indians, as uncivilized peoples, were “Stone-Age” peoples. According to this myth, American Indians did not have metal tools and did not “develop” the land by mining minerals. The problem with this myth is that people kept finding copper objects, both decorative items and tools, which shouldn’t have been there.
Many people assumed that metalworking technology was not possible for the “savage” Indians and so there was a great deal of speculation about the origins of the copper artifacts. There were claims that Bronze Age Europeans had originally “discovered” the Americas and left these artifacts behind. Others saw the copper artifacts coming from Egyptians, Phoenicians, Atlantis, Cornwall, and other places. There were also fanciful stories of an advanced civilization which had once inhabited the area and had been driven out by the “savages”.
By the mid-nineteenth century, however, evidence of aboriginal copper mining in the Great Lakes region was emerging. This evidence suggested that the copper artifacts had originated in North America rather than in Europe, Egypt, or Atlantis.
American explorers, miners, and settlers in the Great Lakes region reported finding ancient copper mines. In Michigan, for example, Americans looking for precious metals were reporting finding the remnants of aboriginal mining by 1847.
In 1848, American explorers found evidence of aboriginal mining in Michigan. A pit had been dug to a depth of 18 feet where the ancient miners had found copper. In his 1884 book The Ancient Earthworks and Temples of the American Indians, Lindesey Brine writes:
“There were several stone hammers, grooved for the purpose of having handles attached to them, and a copper chisel with a socket for a wooden handle, a fragment of which although much decayed was still in place. In an adjoining pit at a depth of ten feet, there was a wooden bowl and some charcoal.”
In 1848 Mr. S. O. Knap of the Minnesota Mining Company discovered an ancient copper mine in Minnesota. In his 1871 book Notes on American Archaeology, John Baldwin reports:
“At the Minnesota mine, the greatest depth of their excavations was thirty feet; and here, not far below the bottom of a trough-like cavity, among a mass of leaves, sticks and water, Mr. Knapp discovered a detached mass of copper weighing near six tons.”
The mass of copper had been raised several feet on timbers, by means of wedges. There was also a stone maul weighing 36 pounds and a copper maul weighing twenty-five pounds. Old trees with 395 growth rings stood in the debris.
John Baldwin also describes another ancient copper mine:
“Here, in the face of a vertical bluff, was discovered an ancient, artificial, cavern-like recess, twenty-five feet in horizontal length, fifteen feet high, and twelve feet deep.”
John Baldwin also reports:
“Some of the blocks of stone removed from this recess would weigh two or three tons, and must have required levers to get them out. Beneath the surface rubbish were the remains of a gutter or trough made of cedar, placed there to carry off water from the mine.”
John Baldwin’s 1871 report makes it clear that prehistoric American Indians were sophisticated copper miners.
In 1848, American explorers found more evidence of aboriginal mining on Isle Royale. Lindesey Brine writes:
“…their attention was directed to the fact that they had been preceded in the search for copper by men of some unknown race, who possessed capacities for mining operations greater than could be attributed to the Chippewas who then occupied the land.”
While the discovery of aboriginal mines strongly suggests ancient copperwork was present in North America prior to the European invasion, speculation about non-Indian origins continued.
More histories
History 101: New Netherland
History 101: The trial of Metis leader Louis Riel
History 101: The Deerfield War of 1675
History 101: Nationalizing spruce production
History 101: Sixteenth-century histories of the Americas
History 101: The Coronado Expedition to the Southwest
History 101: Spanish exploration of the Northwest Coast, 1774-1792
History 101: The First Great Awakening, 1730-1760
