I was in a conversation with a friend the other day and the subject of copper jewelry came up. He said that it was not used historically- this smelled wrong to me, but I lacked the knowledge to be sure. Looking online I am seeing some central Americans used it and Egyptians... But this seems incomplete.
Anyone able to site other societies and time periods?
Copper jewelry exists as far back as the Badarian Period in Egypt (pre-Dynastic circa 4400BC). Copper jewelry is found all over the ANE going as far back as the Chalcolithic period (c 6000BC). Copper jewelry runs from prehistoric Britain all the way through the Anglo-Saxon period (2000BC-1066AD). That pretty much covers everything I've ever looked at.
It's an interesting (and inaccurate) claim for your friend to have made; did he have anything else to say or anything to back it up? Was there some context?
He is indeed very mistaken. The earliest metal ornaments in Europe were made of copper, dating from as far back as 5000 BCE in the Vinča culture in modern-day Serbia. The Varna Necropolis in Bulgaria (c. 4500 BCE), while more famous for its gold, also has a spectacular amount of copper jewellery.