text: Copper is the eighth most abundant metal in the Earth's crust, is available all over the world, and is one of the few that can appear in a pure state. It is not complicated to work with, and a bare hammering can be enough to transform a nugget into a bead. The eye-catching look of native copper makes it easy to recognize, and even flashier if converted into jewelry, a possible motivation for humankind to start metallurgy with it. An evolutive technological process has been described, although there are authors like Javinovic, who think that it is not necessary to pass through the first stages to reach the last one.