Copper - one of the oldest metals of mankind (english abstract)

Copper was one of the first metals ever extracted and used by humans, and it has made vital contributions to sustaining and improving society since the dawn of civilization.
The metal and its alloys have been used for thousands of years. Copper was first used in coins and ornaments starting about 8000 B.C., and at about 5500 B.C., copper tools helped civilization emerge from the Stone Age. In the Roman era, copper was principally mined on Cyprus, hence the origin of the name of the metal as сyprium (metal of Cyprus), later shortened to сuprum.

The discovery that copper alloyed with tin produces bronze marked the beginning of the Bronze Age at about 3000 B.C.
Copper is easily stretched, molded, and shaped; is resistant to corrosion; and conducts heat and electricity efficiently. As a result, copper was important to early humans and continues to be a material of choice for a variety of domestic, industrial, and high-technology applications today.

Its compounds are commonly encountered as copper(II) salts, which often impart blue or green colors to minerals such as azurite and malachite and have been widely used historically as pigments. ... a contribution by Peter Seroka