History after Dark: April 2026

✨History after Dark✨

Copper in North America and Europe: An Exploration of the Importance of Copper in Prehistoric Wisconsin and Europe as well as Indigenous Practice

Globally, copper has been an important resource for people from now into Antiquity. Copper objects have been found by archaeologists from Southeast Asia to Britain and across the pond to our backyard in Wisconsin. This discussion will focus on the importance of copper and those who used it during the Old Copper Complex (~4,000-1,000 BCE) that spanned the western Great Lakes with its heart in Wisconsin, the Chalcolithic (~5,000-2,000 BCE) and Bronze Ages (~2,200-800 BCE) of western Europe, and the Potlatches of Indigenous groups in northwestern America and southwestern Canada.

Tim Piatek is a UW–Milwaukee graduate with a Master’s in Anthropology and a Certificate in Museum Studies. His thesis examined Old Copper Complex artifacts from Sheboygan County, drawing on collections housed at the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Sheboygan County Historical Society & Museum. He has also interned and volunteered at many museums across Wisconsin, gaining extensive hands-on experience in collections care and museum administration.

Admission is $10, $8 for WCHSM Members. Seating is limited to 40 guests, with additional standing room available.