Definition
The Bronze Age is the second part of the three-age system (Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age) for classifying and studying prehistoric societies, particularly the ancient societies of the Mediterranean and Near East. More broadly, the Bronze Age of any culture is the period during which the most advanced metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use) in that culture uses bronze. This could either be based on the local smelting of copper and tin from ores, or trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper/tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact that there were no tin bronzes in western Asia before 3000 BC. Many, though not all, Bronze Age cultures flourished in prehistory. Some cultures developed extensive written records during their Bronze Ages.
In some areas of the world the Bronze Age followed the Neolithic age. However, in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Neolithic age was directly followed by the Iron Age. In some parts of the world, a Copper Age followed the Neolithic Age and preceded the Bronze Age.
The place and time of the invention of bronze are controversial. It is possible that bronzing was invented independently in the Maikop culture in the North Caucasus as far back as the mid 4th millennium BC, which would make them the makers of the oldest known bronze; but others date the same Maikop artifacts to the mid 3rd millennium BCE. However, the Maikop culture only had arsenic bronze, which is a naturally occurring alloy. Tin bronze, which developed later, requires more sophisticated production techniques; tin has to be mined (mainly as the tin ore cassiterite) and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make the bronze alloy.
In Mesopotamia, the Bronze Age begins at about 2900 BCE in the late Uruk period, spanning the Early Dynastic period of Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, the Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian periods and the period of Kassite hegemony. In Ancient Egypt, the Bronze Age begins in the Protodynastic period, c. 3150 BCE.
The Aegean Bronze Age begins around 3000 BC, when civilizations first established a far-ranging trade network. This network imported tin and charcoal to Cyprus, where copper was mined and alloyed with the tin to produce bronze. Bronze objects were then exported far and wide, and supported the trade. Knowledge of navigation was well developed at this time, and reached a peak of skill not exceeded (except perhaps by Polynesian sailors) until 1730 CE when the invention of the chronometer enabled the precise determination of longitude. The Minoan civilization based in Knossos appears to have coordinated and defended its Bronze Age trade.
In Central Europe, the early Bronze Age Unetice culture (1800–1600 BCE) includes numerous smaller groups like the Straubing, Adlerberg and Hatvan cultures. Some very rich burials, such as the one located at Leubingen with grave gifts crafted from gold, point to an increase of social stratification already present in the Unetice culture. All in all, cemeteries of this period are rare and of small size. The Unetice culture is followed by the middle Bronze Age (1600–1200 BCE) Tumulus culture, which is characterised by inhumation burials in tumuli (barrows).
The late Bronze Age Urnfield culture, (1300–700 BCE) is characterized by cremation burials. It includes the Lusatian culture in eastern Germany and Poland (1300–500 BCE) that continues into the Iron Age. The Central European Bronze Age is followed by the Iron Age Hallstatt culture (700–450 BCE).
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Bronze Age Books
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Princeton University Press (15 August 2010)Price: $26.14 -
W. W. Norton & Company (13 July 2015)Price: $15.83 -
Osprey Publishing (17 February 2015)Price: $13.11 -
Cambridge University Press (21 September 2015)Price: $82.36 -
Oxford University Press (09 January 2013)Price: $41.36
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Timeline
Visual Timeline-
6200 BCEFirst copper smelting in Anatolia.
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3800 BCEEarliest bronze working.
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3650 BCEInvention of the wheel.
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3400 BCEPriests become the rulers of Mesopotamian cities.
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c. 3000 BCEFirst habitation of Epidaurus site.
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3000 BCEFirst evidence of habitation at Thebes.
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3000 BCE - 2550 BCETroy I - First stone-walled village settlement
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3000 BCE - 2200 BCEThe first archaeological evidence of organised communities in the Cyclades.
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3000 BCE - 2000 BCEDistinctive minimalistic standing marble figurines are produced in the Cyclades.
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2800 BCE - 1900 BCEBell beaker culture in western Europe.
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2300 BCE - 1750 BCETroy III - Troy V
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2200 BCE - 1700 BCEEvidence of town planning and more sophisticated architecture in the Cylades.
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2000 BCEEarly Greeks settle the Peloponnese.
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2000 BCEDomesticated horses introduced in Mesopotamia.
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c. 2000 BCE
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2000 BCEFirst shaft graves at Thebes.
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2000 BCE - 1650 BCEAkrotiri on Thera reaches its peak of prosperity and becomes a flourishing Mediterranean trading centre.
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c. 1772 BCEThe Code of Hammurabi: One of the earliest codes of law in the world.
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1680 BCEHurrians occupy Assyria.
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c. 1600 BCE - c. 1550 BCEThe palace at Tel Kabri is destroyed and the site is abandoned for the rest of the Bronze Age.
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1550 BCEKingdom of Mittani is founded.
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1550 BCE - 1069 BCEThe New Kingdom of Egypt.
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1500 BCEPastoral farming spreads across Eurasian steppes.
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1500 BCEThe site of Delphi is first settled.
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1500 BCE - 1300 BCEMycenaean Thebes at its peak of prosperity and influence.
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1400 BCEAssyria regains its independence.
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c. 1400 BCE
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1400 BCE - 1100 BCECulture in the Cyclades is increasingly influenced by the Mycenaean civilization of mainland Greece.
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1300 BCE - 950 BCETroy VIIa - VIIb Notable decline in architectural and artisitic standards
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1100 BCEHillforts in western Europe.
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c. 1100 BCEEvidence of settlement destruction and abandonment across the Cyclades.
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