Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is an important time in history when ancient societies in Asia, the Near East, and Europe started making and using bronze. Bronze is made by mixing copper with tin or other metals. This period is part of what is called the three-age system, coming after the Stone Age and before the Iron Age.

During the Bronze Age, people made big steps in how they lived. For the first time, some cultures learned to write. In places like Mesopotamia, they used a writing style called cuneiform, and in Egypt, they used hieroglyphs. Writing helped people keep records and tell stories better than ever before.

Even though bronze was very useful, it was also rare and expensive because tin, one of the metals needed to make it, could only be found in a few places. Because of this, some groups used bronze only for special things like weapons or fancy art, while most people still used stone tools for everyday work. The Bronze Age began around 3,000 BC in many parts of the world, but it started at different times in different places.

Metal use

Further information: Tin sources and trade during antiquity

During the Bronze Age, people discovered that mixing metals made them stronger and more useful. Bronze, made by mixing copper and tin, was much harder than the metals people used before. Even though iron was more common, it was harder to work with because it needed very high heat to melt. Copper and tin could be melted at lower temperatures, which made them easier to use.

Bronze was not used at the same time everywhere. Some places, like the Maykop culture in the North Caucasus, began using a type of bronze called arsenical bronze very early. Making bronze needed special skills, like mining tin and mixing it with hot copper. This led to more trade between different regions. One early piece of bronze was found in Serbia, but its exact age is still debated.

Near East

Main article: Ancient Near East

West Asia and the Near East were the first places to enter what is called the Bronze Age, starting with the rise of the Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. Cultures in the ancient Near East practiced farming all year; created writing; invented the potter's wheel; built central governments usually led by kings; made laws; created cities and larger states and empires; built big buildings; and developed social classes, economies, and ways to manage people. They also started studying the stars and numbers.

The Bronze Age in the Near East can be split into Early, Middle and Late periods. These dates only apply to the Near East, not everywhere. Some researchers think the Middle period might have lasted 300 to 500–600 years longer based on studying things in places like Hazor, Jericho, and Beit She'an.

The Hittite Empire started in the 18th century BC in Hattusa, northern Anatolia. At its peak in the 14th century BC, it covered central Anatolia, parts of Syria, and upper Mesopotamia. After 1180 BC, the kingdom broke up into smaller city-states.

In Ancient Egypt, the Bronze Age began around 3150 BC. The Early Bronze Age started when Egypt was unified around 3100 BC, including the First and Second dynasties. Memphis became a major city. The Old Kingdom followed, a time of great building and achievement.

The Bronze Age in Nubia started around 2300 BC. Egyptians brought metalworking to Meroë around 2600 BC.

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt lasted from 2055 to 1650 BC. The New Kingdom, from the 16th to 11th centuries BC, was a time of great power and wealth for Egypt.

Elam, located east of Mesopotamia, was an ancient civilization centered in Anshan and later Susa. The Oxus civilization was a Bronze Age culture in Central Asia around the Amu Darya river. The Kulli culture was in southern Balochistan around 2500–2000 BC.

In the Levant, the Bronze Age is split into Early Syrian, Old Syrian, and Middle Syrian periods. Major groups included the Eblaite, Nagar, Mariote, Akkadians, Amorites, and later the Mitanni, Israelites, and Arameans. Ugarit had contact with Egypt during this time.

Mesopotamia's Bronze Age began around 3500 BC. Major cities included Ur, Kish, Isin, Larsa, Nippur, Babylon, Calah, and Assur. The Akkadian Empire was dominant from 2335–2154 BC. After its fall, the Neo-Sumerian Empire rose. Assyria became powerful under Shamshi-Adad I. Babylon became important under the Amorite dynasty, forming the First Babylonian Empire during the Old Babylonian Period.

Asia

Central Asia

Agropastoralism

For many years, researchers called Central Asia the "pastoral realm" or the "nomadic world." This area was often ignored in studies of early farming. But foothills and streams supported Bronze Age farmers and herders. They created trade routes between Central Asia and China. These routes brought wheat and barley to China and millet to Central Asia.

Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex

Main article: Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex

The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, also called the Oxus civilisation, lived in Central Asia from about 2400 to 1600 BC. It was located in parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Experts found its sites in 1976. Bactria was an old name for parts of northern Afghanistan, and Margiana was an old name for areas in Turkmenistan.

The BMAC had strong links with the Indus Valley, Iran, and possibly Mesopotamia. All these places knew how to make things using a special method called lost wax casting.

According to a 2019 study, the BMAC did not greatly affect the genetics of later South Asian people.

Seima-Turbino phenomenon

Main article: Seima-Turbino phenomenon

The Altai Mountains, between Siberia and Mongolia, were the starting point of a big cultural change called the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon. Around 2000 BC, changes in climate caused big migrations. People moved west to Europe, east to China, and south to Vietnam and Thailand. This happened over just five to six generations. People from Finland to Thailand used the same metalworking skills and, in some places, raised and rode horses. Genetic tests from south Siberia and Kazakhstan suggest these skills spread eastward through Indo-European migrations.

These migrations may have also spread the Uralic group of languages across Europe and Asia. Today, languages like Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian come from this group.

East Asia

China

Main articles: Erlitou culture, Shang dynasty, Sanxingdui, and Lower Xiajiadian culture

In China, the earliest bronze objects were found at the Majiayao culture site, dating from 3100 to 2700 BC.

The idea of a "Bronze Age" in China comes from Western Eurasia. There is no agreement on when it began or ended in China. Some think the Early Bronze Age was during the Shang dynasty (16th to 11th centuries BC), and the Later Bronze Age was during the Zhou dynasty (11th to 3rd centuries BC). Some believe the Bronze Age never really ended in China because there was no clear shift to the Iron Age. Bronze was important for ritual items, even compared to iron or stone.

Bronze making in China began during the Erlitou period, which some link to the Shang dynasty and others to the earlier Xia dynasty. The United States National Gallery of Art says the Chinese Bronze Age was from about 2000 to 771 BC, starting with the Erlitou culture and ending when the Western Zhou rule fell apart.

Bronze developed in China partly on its own, but some think ideas came from the west. The Tarim mummies found in Xinjiang suggest possible links. However, the oldest bronze objects in China were found at the Majiayao site in Gansu, not Xinjiang.

The Erlitou period shows China's first large-scale metalworking. Influences from the Seima-Turbino culture in the north are seen in special spearheads found in China. Metalworking centers in northwestern China, like the Qijia culture in Gansu and the Longshan culture in Shaanxi, helped spread these skills.

Iron was used in China as early as the Zhou dynasty (1046 to 256 BC), but it was rare. Books from the 6th century BC mention iron smelting, but bronze stayed important for a long time. One expert says iron didn't replace bronze fully until the end of the Zhou dynasty in 256 BC. Bronze vessels were still common during the Eastern Han period, up to 221 BC.

Chinese bronze objects were either practical, like spear points or axe heads, or ritual items, like fancy versions of everyday tools and weapons. Examples include large sacrificial tripods called dings. Many bronzes have animal designs, especially the taotie motif, showing stylized animal faces. These come in three types: demons, symbolic animals, and abstract symbols. Many large bronzes have inscriptions that help historians understand China's past, especially during the Zhou dynasty.

These inscriptions talk about dates, events, gifts to the craftsman, and dedications. They help place bronzes in the right time period of the Western Zhou, showing how bronzes and the events they record changed over time.

Japan

Main article: Yayoi period

During the early Yayoi period (about 300 BC), bronze arrived in Japan. This period brought metalworking and farming from people who came from the continent. Bronze and iron making spread through contact with East Asian civilisations, especially trade and immigration from Korea and mainland China. Iron was mostly used for farming tools, while bronze was used for ritual and ceremony items. Bronze weapons like daggers and spearheads were used as weapons at first but later became ritual objects.

Korea

Main articles: Gojoseon and Mumun pottery period

The Bronze Age in Korea began around 1000 to 800 BC, starting in Liaoning and southern Manchuria. Korean Bronze Age culture has its own styles, especially in ritual objects.

The Mumun pottery period is named after plain cooking and storage pots used during this time, especially from 850 to 550 BC. This period saw the start of intensive farming and complex societies in Korea and Japan.

During the Middle Mumun period, around 700 to 600 BC, bronze making began in southern Korea after a time when Liaoning-style bronze daggers and other items were traded there from about 900 to 700 BC. Bronze daggers were important for showing status and were buried with important people in megalithic graves in places like the Igeum-dong site. Bronze was used in ceremonies and as gifts until 100 BC.

South Asia

(Dates are approximate, consult linked articles for details)

Indus Valley

Main article: Indus Valley Civilisation

The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BC with the Indus Valley Civilization. People there developed new ways to work with metals and made copper, bronze, lead, and tin. The Late Harappan culture (1900 to 1400 BC) overlaps the shift from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, so it is hard to say exactly when this change happened. Some think a 6,000-year-old copper wheel-shaped charm from Mehrgarh is the world's earliest example of lost-wax casting.

The cities of the Indus Valley were well-planned with baked brick houses, good drainage, water supply systems, and large non-residential buildings. They also had new skills in making things like carnelian products, sealing, and working with metals. Big cities like Mohenjo-daro and Harappa may have had between 30,000 and 60,000 people, and the civilisation might have had between one and five million people at its peak.

Southeast Asia

The Vilabouly Complex in Laos is important for understanding when bronze making began in Southeast Asia.

Thailand

In Ban Chiang, Thailand, bronze objects have been found that date back to 2100 BC. However, some scholars think the Bronze Age in Ban Chiang started later, in the late second millennium. In Nyaung-gan, Myanmar, bronze tools were found with ceramics and stone items. The dates for these are broad, from 2300 to 500 BC. Ban Non Wat, studied by Charles Higham, had over 640 graves with many complex bronze items that may have been important for social status.

Ban Chiang is the best-documented site in Southeast Asia for metallurgy. It has items from the late third millennium BC to the first millennium AD, including burial pots (dated 2100 to 1700 BC) and bronze and copper bangles. Evidence shows that bronze was made there from the start. This suggests bronze may have come to Southeast Asia from another country. Some think copper-based metallurgy spread from northwest and central China to areas like Guangdong and Yunnan, reaching southeast Asia around 1000 BC. Studies of sites like Ban Lum Khao, Ban Na Di, Non-Nok Tha, Khok Phanom Di, and Nong Nor show that Bronze Age metallurgy may not have caused big social changes like in other regions. Instead, society may have been more equal, with a network of groups rather than strict hierarchies.

Vietnam

Further information: Dong Son culture

The first bronze drums, called Dong Son drums, were found in and around the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the Dong Son culture of Vietnam.

Studies of bones from northern Vietnam show that after metallurgy began, there were more signs of infectious diseases. This could be because of more people living close together, clearing land for farming, or changes in diet from farming. It might also mean that diseases became stronger in the Metal Age.

Myanmar

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Europe

Some important Bronze Age cultures in Europe include many different groups that lived around the same time. Dates for when these cultures existed are only approximate.

Southeast Europe

Main articles: Old Europe (archaeology) and Varna culture

Researchers found a very early piece of bronze made from tin in Serbia and Bulgaria, dating back to around 4650 BC. This shows that people in Europe were making bronze earlier than previously thought. The oldest gold objects in the world, dating from 4600 to 4200 BC, were found in Bulgaria.

Aegean

Main article: Aegean civilisation

The Aegean Bronze Age began around 3200 BC when people started trading over long distances. They traded for tin and charcoal to make bronze in places like Cyprus. Ships were very important for trade and travel during this time.

Aegean collapse

At the end of the Bronze Age in this area, some trading centres lost much of their population due to lack of food and disease. This happened because the trade networks that provided food and supplies stopped working. Drought and lack of rain also caused problems for growing crops.

Central Europe

Main article: Bronze Age Europe § Central Europe

In Central Europe, the Unetice culture lived from 2300 to 1600 BC. They made rich grave goods from gold. Later, the tumulus culture lived from 1600 to 1200 BC and buried people in mounds. Other cultures in this area included the Körös, Mako, Otomani, and Gyulavarsand cultures.

Southern Europe

In Italy, the Apennine culture existed during both the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. In Sardinia and Corsica, the Nuragic civilisation lasted from the early Bronze Age until the 2nd century AD. They built large stone towers called Nuraghes.

Western Europe

Great Britain

In Great Britain, the Bronze Age lasted from about 2100 to 750 BC. New people came to the islands from places like Switzerland. They brought changes to how people lived and built structures. Places like Stonehenge were used by both the new and old groups of people. The climate became wetter, which changed where people lived and how they used the land.

Atlantic Bronze Age

Main article: Atlantic Bronze Age

The Atlantic Bronze Age was a time of sharing ideas and goods between many places along the Atlantic coast, from Portugal to Britain and Ireland. People traded with places as far away as Denmark and the Mediterranean.

Ireland

Main articles: Prehistoric Ireland § Bronze Age, and Atlantic Bronze Age

The Bronze Age in Ireland began around 2000 BC when people started making tools from bronze. They built many stone circles and rows during this time.

Northern Europe

Main article: Nordic Bronze Age

The Bronze Age in Northern Europe lasted from about 1700 to 500 BC. People made many beautiful objects from bronze and gold. Ships were very important for travel and trade, and there are many drawings of ships on rocks. There are also large stone burial places shaped like ships.

Eastern Europe

In Eastern Europe, the Yamnaya culture lived from 3300 to 2600 BC. They were followed by other cultures like the Catacomb, Poltavka, and Corded Ware cultures. The Sintashta culture, which lived from 2200 to 1750 BC, is where the earliest known chariots were found.

Caucasus

Arsenical bronze objects from the Maykop culture in the North Caucasus date back to around the 4th millennium BC. This technology spread to other parts of Europe.

Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

See also: Copper metallurgy in Africa

Iron and copper smelting started around the same time in most parts of Africa. Because of this, many Classical African civilisations outside Egypt did not have a clear Bronze Age period. Signs of iron smelting show up around the same time or even earlier than copper smelting in Nigeria around 900–800 BC, in Rwanda and Burundi around 700–500 BC, and in Tanzania around 300 BC.

There has been a long discussion about whether people in sub-Saharan Africa developed copper and iron smelting on their own or if these skills came from other places. Evidence supporting either idea is limited, and scientists are still debating this. Some experts think that not enough research has been done in sub-Saharan Africa, and old ideas may have affected what we understand about the history of metalworking there.

West Africa

People in West Africa were smelting copper before they started working with iron. Evidence of copper smelting furnaces was found near Agadez, Niger, dating back to as early as 2200 BC. But, it is still being discussed whether copper was produced in this area before 1000 BC. Signs of copper mining and smelting have been found at Akjoujt, Mauretania, showing small-scale production around 800–400 BC.

Americas

See also: Metallurgy in pre-Columbian America and Metallurgy in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica

The Moche culture in South America learned how to make bronze on their own. The Inca also used bronze for tools and art. Later, a small amount of bronze making appeared in western Mexico, possibly because of connections with Andean civilisations or because they discovered it themselves. The Calchaquí people in northwestern Argentina also knew how to work with bronze.

Trade

Trade and industry were very important for Bronze Age civilizations. Artifacts from the Indus Valley Civilisation have been found in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, showing that these places were connected and trading with each other. Early long-distance trade mostly involved special items like spices, fabrics, and precious metals. This trade made cities with lots of these items very wealthy and helped different cultures meet and share ideas for the first time.

Trade routes were not just on land. The first big trade paths were along rivers such as the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, which helped cities grow along their banks. Later, people began to use camels, which made it easier to travel and trade over land. This connected the Indus Valley with the Mediterranean and led to new towns where travelers could rest or unload their goods at inns or ports.