Is that Awl? Experimental Insight into Native Copper Working and Innovation

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an experiment replicating native copper awls, the most common form of copper tool found in Late Prehistoric contexts in Alaska and Yukon. Several copper awls were made using lithic tools in a relatively short period of time by two novices. Though oral history from the region suggests some individuals were especially proficient at working native copper, our results demonstrate this material could have been added to the existing repertoire of material technologies with relative ease.