Longer Copper Age

Let's say that, by happenstance, the discovery of Bronze is delayed and humanity continues to use pure copper.

What happens to civilization? If Bronze is delayed for a very long time, what could the consequences of copper-based metallurgy have been on its development?

Another interesting question. What if a major civilization never discovered bronze while the rest of the world did?

Dorozhand said:

Let's say that, by happenstance, the discovery of Bronze is delayed and humanity continues to use pure copper.

What happens to civilization? If Bronze is delayed for a very long time, what could the consequences of copper-based metallurgy have been on its development?

Another interesting question. What if a major civilization never discovered bronze while the rest of the world did?

Click to expand...

Quite like what happened in Pre-Columbian North and Central America?

Dorozhand said:

Let's say that, by happenstance, the discovery of Bronze is delayed and humanity continues to use pure copper.

Click to expand...

You do realise that IOTL the discovery was almost certainly made separately in several different areas, yes? And that some of the early copper ore deposits exploited in Eurasia were situated in quite close conjunction either to sources of tin or to ores of arsenic (that could also be used to harden copper, although the smiths' lifespans might have been shortened by the fumes from the smelting process) -- which might have led to some accidental production of bronze-like alloys initially -- too? What single POD would explain a failure to make the changeover in all of those cases?

1) Copper is useful for some things, but it simply isnt as useful as bronze or iron. Copper never completely replaced stone tools.

2) as mentioned above, how the heck do you avoid bronze, especially in Eurasia.

3) if one civilization stays with copper, she'll be overwhelmed or overrun quickly by a neighbour that has bronze.

4) iron working is invented sooner. Early iron was worse than bronze, but if there's no bronze.... I believe there is some suspicion that west Africa may have gone straight from copper to iron iotl.