The Bronze Age

  ____________________________________________________________________

The Bronze Age and the Manufacture of Weapons and Tools

The bronze age, regarding the development of technology, took place when bronze metals were first used on a regular basis in the manufacture of weapons and tools. 

The precursor of the bronze age was the Copper Age, a time when raw copper and bronze, an alloy composed mainly of copper and tin, were used. 

In fact, pure copper was used in the manufacture of tools, weapons, and ornaments as early as 10,000 BC.  Later discoveries in an area that is now Serbia have uncovered the fact that copper was in use in this part of the world in 4000 BC. 

Historians believe that bronze was developed about 3500 BC by the ancient Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.  The predominant theory is that bronze may have come into being by accident. 

More specifically, historians theorize that bronze was made when rocks that were rich in tin and copper were used to prevent the accidental spreading of campfires.  As the fire heated the rocks, the metal ores may have mixed together, forming bronze. 

As evidence of the fact that the Bronze Age happened at different times in different parts of the world, consider the fact that while bronze was employed in Greece around 3000 BC, it took until 1800 BC before bronze was used in China.  And it took almost another 3,000 years before bronze technology was used in the pre-Columbian Americas. 

An Age When Most Tools, Weapons and Ornaments Were Bronze

The Bronze Age signifies the development in the course of human culture when the majority of weapons, tools, and ornaments were made of bronze. Chronologically, the Bronze Age actually had a broad time-line due to the fact that bronze came into use, and then was replaced by iron, at dissimilar times in the various parts of the world.

During the Bronze Age, bronze was mainly a mixture of two metals:  copper and tin.  Now, however, bronze is an alloy of copper along with other metals such as aluminum, manganese, and tin.  These other metals are frequently added to bronze to add to its corrosion resistance.

Please Add Our Website To Your Favorite Bookmarks!

_______________________________________________