It was the people from the south-eastern part of Turkey who discovered copper for the first time, more than 9000 years ago. They found that copper could be obtained from the shiny rocks of the region. However, copper’s name comes from Cyprus, which supplied much of the metal to the ancient world.
Though copper was a popular metal its value was noted only since the 17th century, when it was realized that the metal is a great conductor of heat. Later, in the 19th century, copper was proved to be the second best conductor of electricity after silver.
Use of the metal bronze became widespread in Europe during the Bronze Age, around 2000 BC. Bronze was made by heating the metals tin and copper, and mixing them together. Bronze objects are highly resistant to decay, and are still found in many ancient sites around the world.
Pictures credit: google