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The term Bronze Age refers to a period in
human cultural development when the most advanced
metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread
use) included techniques for smelting copper and tin
from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper
ores, and then smelting those ores to cast bronze.
These naturally-occurring ores typically included
arsenic as a common impurity. Copper/tin ores are
rare, as reflected in the fact that there were no
tin bronzes in western Asia before 3,000 B.C. The
Bronze Age forms part of the three-age system for
prehistoric societies. In this system, it follows
the Neolithic in some areas of the world. In many
parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the Neolithic is
directly followed by the Iron Age. In some parts of
the world, a Copper Age follows the Neolithic and
precedes the Bronze Age.
In archaeology, the Iron Age was the stage in
the development of any people in which tools and
weapons whose main ingredient was iron were
prominent. The adoption of this material coincided
with other changes in some past societies often
including differing agricultural practices,
religious beliefs and artistic styles, although this
was not always the case.
The Iron Age is the last principal period in the
three-age system for classifying pre-historic
societies, preceded by the Bronze Age. Its date and
context vary depending on the country or
geographical region. |
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