Early Copper Metallurgy at Gre Fılla

Archaeological evidence at Gre Fılla in Anatolia's upper Tigris Valley indicates Neolithic hunter-gatherers worked copper at temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius around 8000 BCE. Researchers found copper bar-shaped artifacts and vitrified materials containing copper droplets. Lead isotope analysis suggests the copper originated from Black Sea region sources, indicating trade networks existed. The discovery places metallurgical activity approximately 3,000 years earlier than previous estimates, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period.