"The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization."
Study of the technological advancements in Bronze Age civilizations, including metallurgy, stonework, navigation, writing systems, and agriculture.
Extraction and Mining: The process of mining ores and extracting metals such as copper and tin, which were used to make bronze.
Smelting: The process of melting ores and reducing them to a metal, such as copper or tin, through heating and chemical reactions.
Alloying: The process of combining two or more metals to make a new metal, such as combining copper and tin to make bronze.
Metalworking: The techniques used to shape and manipulate metals, including casting, forging, and hammering.
Toolmaking: The process of creating tools, such as axes and chisels, from metal.
Pottery: The art of creating ceramic objects, such as pots and vases, using clay and firing them in a kiln.
Textiles: The production of fabrics and textiles, including the use of materials such as wool and flax.
Agriculture: The cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals, which played a crucial role in the development of Bronze Age societies.
Trade and Commerce: The exchange of goods and services between different regions and cultures, facilitating cultural exchange and technological advancement.
Social Organization: The ways in which Bronze Age societies were structured, including hierarchies, divisions of labor, and social stratification.
Bronze making: The creation of bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was a crucial technology during the Bronze Age.
Metallurgy: The technology of extracting and refining metals, including bronze, copper, and tin.
Agriculture: The cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals was important for sustaining civilizations.
Irrigation: The development of irrigation technologies allowed farmers to grow crops in dry regions.
Pottery: The creation of pottery was important for cooking, storage, and transportation of food and water.
Textiles: The weaving and spinning of fibers into textiles allowed for the production of clothing and other fabrics.
Shipbuilding: The construction of ships allowed for travel and trade across bodies of water.
Weapons: The production of swords, spears, and other weapons was a vital technology during the Bronze Age.
Masonry: The construction of buildings using stone and mortar was an important advancement.
Writing: The development of writing, such as cuneiform and hieroglyphics, enabled the documentation of history, religion, and culture.
"...it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from production areas elsewhere."
"Bronze is harder and more durable than the other metals available at the time, allowing Bronze Age civilizations to gain a technological advantage."
"Tin's low melting point of 231.93 °C (449.47 °F) and copper's relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C (1,985 °F) placed them within the capabilities of the Neolithic pottery kilns... Tin's higher temperature required for smelting, in addition to the greater difficulty of working with the metal, placed iron out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC."
"...the collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near East, in particular Egypt, eastern Libya, the Balkans, the Aegean, Anatolia, and the Caucasus."
"...it brought a sharp economic decline to regional powers, notably ushering in the Greek Dark Ages."
"According to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia (cuneiform script) and Egypt (hieroglyphs) developed the earliest practical writing systems."
"The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age system proposed in 1836 by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen for classifying and studying ancient societies and history."
"...it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin, arsenic, or other metals..."
"Tin's low melting point of 231.93 °C (449.47 °F) and copper's relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C (1,985 °F)."
"The Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition."
"...there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the 3rd millennium BC."
"The Bronze Age is said to have ended with the Late Bronze Age collapse, a time of widespread societal collapse during the 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150."
"It was sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive for many Bronze Age civilizations."
"...it brought a sharp economic decline to regional powers."
"...lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC..."
"...the collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near East..."
"It is also considered the second phase, of three, in the Metal Ages."
"...characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization."
"According to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia (cuneiform script) and Egypt (hieroglyphs) developed the earliest practical writing systems."