[Aztlan] Ancient copper workshop discovered at Cahokia

[Dave Pentecost]

I think this line from Mike's summary is a bit misleading:

 "The technique used by the Cahokians is difficult to reproduce today."

That implies that it was an unusual, mysterious or forgotten technique.

The article only mentions that one graduate student, not described as
a trained craftsman or metallurgist, gave it a try with some success:

"Another graduate student, Lori Belknap, a mother of two from
Mascoutah, is working on a master's degree in geology but has shown an
intense interest in Mound 34. She cut a stump and got a flat rock and
a chunk of rounded basalt. After first heating a piece of raw copper
to about 600 degrees, she tried to pound the relatively soft metal to
the thinness obtained by the Mississippians.

"I didn't have much luck," she said, but the copper did flatten out
enough to show the technique was possible."


Best regards
Dave