Environmental and health effects of early copper metallurgy and mining in the Bronze Age

Abstract

Copper was a vital metal to the development of the Bronze Age in Europe and the Middle East. Many mine locations and mining techniques were developed to source the copper and other elements needed for the production of arsenic or tin bronze. Mining came with many associated health risks, from the immediate risk of collapse to eventual death from heavy metal poisoning. Severe environmental pollution from mining and smelting occurred, affecting the local mining community with effects that can still be felt today. This essay aims to establish that copper mining and manufacture had dramatic effects on the environment and health of people living in Europe and the Middle East during the Bronze Age. It goes on to speculate that heavy metal poisoning may have contributed to the increase in fractures seen between the Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Smelting Metals, Enacting Rituals. The Interplay of Religious Symbolisms and Metallurgical Practices in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean

“…Unlike the miners and smelters buried at Wadi Faynan and Shiqmim, local craftsmen would thus have not been exposed to the same dangers of heavy metal poisoning, at least not to the same extent (Özbal et al 2008). While no direct evidence of body dysmorphia has been pinpointed for these examples, these studies show how lead and arsenic metal poisoning can be a direct cause of stress-markers and signs of trauma on bones, as well as osteoporosis, general decrease in bone strength and optimal development, while possibly having repercussions on male and female infertility (Martinez-Garcia et al 2005;Martin 2017).…”