While prehistoric Native Americans were technically Stone Age people they also used metals. The most often used metal was copper, known as Miskwabik in the Ojibwe language. Copper was discovered in its native form on the shore of Lake Superior and by 3,000 B.C. mining was well under way. It was soon fashioned into elaborate works of art that spread throughout the eastern woodlands of North America. Used primarily as burial objects, the copper was hammered or cast by an elite group of craftsmen. The art form reached its peak around A.D. 1, in the Hopewell culture that dominated the cultural scene for hundreds of years.
Art historian Amelia Trevelyam has fused her knowledge of art and archaeology to give us a comprehensive picture of this native art form. Over some 4,500 years, tons of native copper was mined and turned into ritual objects, and Miskwabik tells this little- known story with clarity and understanding.
