Alice Dein 8C

THE BRONZE & IRON AGES

Early human history can be divided into three ages; Stone, Bronze and Iron. Bronze was an
important discovery being more advanced than stone. The Bronze Age was the first period in
which a metal was used. Bronze provided many uses that stone couldnt and was a valuable
trading piece. Bronze was a luxury item used mainly by nobility.
The transition to the
Iron Age was critical. Iron was more abundant therefore the mass production of agricultural
and warfare implements was revolutionary.

Previous to the bronze; copper has been used to make metal objects, but these were usually
only ornamental because the metal was too soft to make useful tools or weapons. Bronze is
made of copper and 10% tin making a much harder alloy. The change brought on widespread
social changes as only the upper class could afford such luxuries and therefore wore it as
jewellery (men and women alike), ornamental weaponry (as it was now hard enough to be a
useful tool or sword) and even decorations for their horses such as breastplates and
horseshoes. The use of bronze became widespread in Greece and China before 3000 BCE but
in some places; Britain for example, it didnt begin until around 1900 BCE. Bronze was such a
useful alloy because it could be cast in many different shapes and could be made to have
sharp edges; sheet metal was hammered into shape making useful items like shields. When
bronze became worn it was melted down and recast. Stone is abundant but copper ores are
not common and tin ores are rare; this being discovered brought about many prospectors and
miners. Long distance trade in metal ingots developed and central trading areas came into
being. Control of the trade was a great source of power and large fortified settlements grew
which dominated the trade routes and served as centres of manufacturing. With these
revolutionary discoveries came some revolutionary consequences, as it also revolutionised
people. Throughout the western world a more obviously warlike society was evolving, this
period gave out the first evidence of individual armed combat. A little bit of tin changed the
course of human history.

Iron wasnt harder than bronze but rather more abundant than copper and tin therefore
bringing about the Iron Age. The date of the full Iron Age, in which this metal for the most part
replaced bronze in implements and weapons, varied geographically, beginning in the Middle
East and south eastern Europe about 1200 BCE but in China not until about 600 BCE.
Smelting pits had also advanced significantly to be able to produce the higher temperatures
needed to smelt iron ore. In about five centuries, it covered the east-west span of Europe and
Asia. By 500 BCE, most of Europe and Asia had transitioned into the Iron Age. The iron age
also diffused across North Africa, and then (unlike the Bronze Age) southward across subSaharan Africa. Diffusion was slower than in Europe and Asia; it took about a thousand years
for the Iron Age to reach southern Africa. Unlike bronze which is poured, iron is worked into
shape by repeatedly heating and hammering against an anvil. It was used to make many
things that bronze wasnt used for such as ploughs and coins. Its believed the Hittites learned
to add carbon (2%) to iron to make steel. Steel is superior to everything; it is cheaper,
stronger and lighter. By this time Europe was quite settled with small farming communities.
Although the society as a whole was dominated by warrior aristocracy, life for most people
consisted of an unending round of farming activities. On the other hand, utilization of iron for
weapons put arms in the hands of the masses for the first time and set off a series of largescale movements of peoples that did not end for 2,000 years and that changed the face of
Europe and Asia.

Alice Dein 8C
With these discoveries came improvements, changes from ornaments to useful objects, the
workmanship was not as basic, for example pins turned into safety pins with springs.
Improved tools therefore enhanced farming, a fiercer warrior- not only in looks but also in
capabilities. The tools that were created, along with many other things including the methods,
are still used regularly to this day. The Bronze and Iron Ages were significant time periods in
our history that helped to shape the world as we know it.

Bibliography
YAC Bronze Age http://www.yac-uk.org/timeline/earlybronze
Essential Humanities Bronze & Iron Age - http://www.essential-humanities.net/historyoverview/stone-bronze-iron-ages/#bronze-and-iron-ages
Britsh History Encyclopedia Iron Age - http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/ironage/the-iron-age
Encyclopaedia Britannica Iron Age - http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/294368/IronAge
The Shorter Word Bronze & Iron Age - http://www.theshorterword.com/stone-bronze-iron
The DK Eyewitness Enyclopedia: Early People (Book)