From: João Simões Lopes Filho
Message: 13712
Date: 2002-05-14
----- Original Message -----
From: <x99lynx@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 1:40 AM
Subject: [tied] Re: PIE for copper
> kalyan97@...> wrote:
> >Latin cuprum, from Latin Cyprium (aes), Cyprian (metal), from
> >Cyprius, from Greek Kuprios, from Kupros, Cyprus.
>
> Kuprios as copper seems relatively rare in early Greek. I don't think it's
in
> Homer. The word that seems to refer most often to copper and/or bronze
was
> <chalkos>, an interesting word. I'm not so sure the differences between
> "pure copper" and its various alloys (like bronze) were fully comprehended
by
> the general public until well into the iron age, especially since
> arsenic-copper bronze could frequently be produced accidently with no
> apparent explanation. The tradition of the copper/bronze smith was so
strong
> that <chalkeus> remained the primary name for smith into the iron age.
> <oreichalkos> (mountain copper), <chalkolithos> (copper stone) were both
used
> to describe copper ore. An ore from Cyprus was described as <misu>.
>
> There are different processes involved here. One was the mining and
> transport of ore once surface sources were insufficient. Then, the
smelting o
> f copper - it is thought this would have been the work of potters who had
the
> only furnaces that could reach the required temperatures. Early copper
would
> have been smelted before it was worked. And such words as the Cretan
> <kauches> and the Greek <kausis>, <kaminokauste:s>, <chalkochutos>,
<choanos>
> and <chusis> all referred to the melting and casting aspects of copper or
> metal making. Forging - hammering the metal - involved words like
<elauno:>
> and <tupoto:>. More complex work was represented by words like
<chalko-toreo:
> > and <toros>, which seem to refer to turning, melding and etching.
>
> It should be noted that currently the earliest evidence of bronze-making
(and
> therefore copper working) seems to be from Thailand (Ban Chiang). The
last
> dates I've heard is about 5500BC.
>
> Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote:
> <<The PIE for copper/ore was *h2ayes (Lat. aes, Skt. ayas, E. ore).>>
>
> Do you see any relatedness in Gr <oros>, mountain, hill; <oreios>, of the
> mountains; <oreichalkos> mountain copper/bronze?
>
> Steve
>
>
>
>
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