A melting glacier in the Italian Alps has uncovered a rare Neolithic site located over 3,000 meters above sea level. Archaeologists found evidence of a high-altitude workshop dedicated to the extraction and preliminary smelting of copper. The site includes stone anvils, crucibles, and several unfinished copper axe heads, suggesting that prehistoric people were exploiting high-altitude mineral resources much earlier than previously thought.
This discovery highlights the impact of past climate fluctuations on human settlement and industry. Evidence suggests that a prolonged warm period 5,000 years ago allowed Neolithic miners to work at altitudes that would later become inaccessible due to glacial expansion. The find provides a critical data point for understanding the transition to the Bronze Age in Europe.