Tiny Copper Ornament Said to Overturn Old Notions of Far Southern Metalworkers

THE INTERNET — A small copper ornament, thin as paper, is said by the website Ancient Pages to be rewriting the history of early metallurgy in the Americas. The claim appears in a preview written by Conny Waters, with the full article reserved for paying members.

According to the preview, historians have long held that the nomadic tribes of the far south lived wholly in the Stone Age and lacked the sophistication to work metal. The article states that scientists placed the ornament under an advanced laboratory scanner and that the results overturned this belief.

The preview goes on to say the scan revealed a "deeply guarded secret," though the visible text does not say what that secret is. It asks who the forgotten craftsmen were, and describes the ornament as a missing link in a vast prehistoric network, evidence of an independent metalworking tradition in a place where nobody thought to look.

The preview does not identify the location of the find, the date of the object, the scientists involved, or the methods used. Readers wishing to examine the evidence are directed to a membership page. The same page lists related articles on Tusayan Pueblo ruins, artifacts found in Virginia, and objects from a cave in the Four Corners states.