9 Bold Facts about the Bronze Age

First published 18th January 2024 Samantha Khu

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If you spent any time paying attention in history class, there’s every chance you’ve heard of the Bronze Age before. It was a pivotal period of development in human history that historians view as extremely important for our use of materials, tools, and bartering. It’s sometimes known as the Chalcolithic Age between people truly in the know – but to you and I, it’s the Bronze Age! Here are some fun facts about the Bronze Age to top up on your knowledge from your school days.

1. The Bronze Age took place during varying periods.

Typically, the period known as our Bronze Age refers to when humans first started developing the use of metal in manufacturing and toolcraft. It’s when we started using pure copper, and this period actually happened in around 3,000 BC in China – long before it started in the UK, in around 1,900 BC!

2. The Age supposedly occurred as early as 4,000 BC!

Historians even think that we started to use copper in toolcraft and manufacturing as far back as 4,000 BC – and that we didn’t move past this point until around 650 BC. That, again, is thanks to British toolcrafters being slower than other countries!

3. The Bronze Age was an important step between two other Ages you’ve probably heard of.

The Stone Age, of course, is a period of time that conjures up images of cavepeople and wall drawings – and the Bronze Age was, in fact, the evolution of this society model. It was a stepping stone, of sorts, between the Stone Age and the Iron Age, which is when we started to refine metals for use in mass production.

4. The wheel was invented in the Bronze Age.

It’s a common misconception that cavepeople invented the wheel! It was actually invented during the Bronze Age, though not for the purpose you might imagine. It was originally used as a potter’s wheel. It would be some time before we’d figure out that we could put wheels on vehicles to move around!

5. Bronze was a compound made from rare metals.

Bronze is actually a compound metal that consists of copper and tin. Copper, in fact, was seen as something of a luxury commodity in some territories during the Bronze Age – meaning the new, stronger material created was highly sought-after. Thankfully, the revolution helped to make copper more widely available and improve tools and weapons across the world.

6. The Bronze Age gave birth to irrigation.

Irrigation is crucial for watering crops en masse – and believe it or not, we started getting smarter about keeping crops growing all the way back in the Bronze Age. Irrigation systems were invented during this time, and we’ve relied on such systems ever since.

7. We have other farming tools to thank the Bronze Age for, too.

It seems the Bronze Age was a fantastic period for farmers, as the Age also gave us new tools such as bronze-built plows and axes. Even without bronze, inventors during this period created planting fields – meaning it was an extremely important era for making food cultivation more efficient.

8. It was a pivotal time for moving away from wood and stone.

Wood and stone certainly served us well over the centuries as far as weaponry and tools were concerned – but metals such as bronze compounds proved stronger and more effective – meaning we gradually shifted away from the old standards during these years.

9. Wood and stone were used for housing, instead.

Although we moved away from using stone and wood in tools and weapons, we focused instead on using the material to build homes. For example, we built homes with roofs made from woven twigs.

FAQs about the Bronze Age

What happened in the Bronze Age?

During the Bronze Age, people first started learning how to farm and manage crops efficiently, while also learning how to write, and even to start developing urban housing.