53 Bronze Age Inventions: Curious Facts Revealed For Kids!

The Bronze Age is the second period of the three-age system which is used to classify and study ancient history and society.

The Bronze Age comes after the Stone Age and is followed by the Iron Age; this historic period, as its name suggests, is characterized by the use of bronze for manufacturing weapons and other hard materials.

Historians believe that the Bronze Age lasted from 3300-1200 BCE; this timeline is further divided into three parts in the Near East but not globally, and they are Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, and Late Bronze Age.

The change from Stone Age to Bronze Age is mainly due to the agricultural advancements which were made in the Neolithic Age as the people now had more time on their hands to work, study, and experiment. This was how bronze came into existence.

There were bronze objects all around and this era is marked by the high use of metals and the development of several civilizations.

The introduction of bronze led to the fall of stone tools as bronze tools were more durable, and they were made up of copper and tin. The craftsmen now produced a wider range and better quality tools and weapons.

Agriculture benefitted massively from the introduction of the Bronze Age, the bronze plow for instance was much more durable than the stone or the wood ones yielding better results.

Another historical event that began with the advent of the Bronze Age was written accounts of the events. Some of the earliest writing forms include the cuneiform script of the Near East, hieroglyphs of Egypt, and several other writing systems of the Mediterranean.

Now the beginning and end of the Bronze Age differ depending upon the civilization, for instance in Sumer, the Bronze Age began in 3300 BC but in Britain, the Bronze Age began in 2100 BC.

The Bronze Age also paved way for long-distance trades due to the introduction of the wheel which led to the invention of chariots. At the same time, owing to improvements in sailing skills, trade practices had emerged.

Moreover, due to the invention of new-age tools and weapons, civilizations that entered the Bronze Age prior to others had an advantage and it is due to the inventions of these Bronze Age tools that this period is marked pretty important for further technological innovations.

Discoveries Of The Bronze Age

Advancements in metallurgy leading to the discovery of bronze marked the birth of the Bronze Age. Bronze was preceded by stones and then copper and tin but archeological surveys claim that it was around the fourth millennium BCE when bronze was first discovered in India, China, and Sumer by combining tin and copper.

People found out that the alloy thus produced was superior in strength, durability than its predecessors, and this discovery enabled people of the Bronze Age to create metal tools and weapons.

Once people learned about the concept of metals and metallurgy, they began experimenting which led to the invention of the processes of smelting and casting. Soon people discovered that these processes could be undertaken to produce swords, knives, daggers, buckets, or any other object.

All these combined are today marked as Bronze Age weapons and objects.

Archeological surveys have found that bronze was not only used for making weapons, possession of bronze items during the Bronze Age marked supremacy in social status. Socketed axes with no signs of damage have been found in Europe, and at the same time, it is believed that bronze axes were perhaps the most valuable tool of that period.

A fact about the use of bronze in the early days of the Bronze Age is that it wasn't discovered as an alloy of copper and tin as bronze was initially made of copper and arsenic, and the resultant product was known as arsenic bronze.

Later on, people discovered that bronze could be produced by the combination of tin and copper.

It was known as tin bronze and the latter was more widely used because it was stronger and at the same time easier to cast.

Now that tin bronze was adopted as the bronze which was widely used for making tools and weapons, there were two kinds of tin bronze; one used 10% of tin while the other used 6%.

The tin bronze which contained 10% of tin was known as classic bronze and was used for manufacturing bladed weapons such as razors, whereas the other kind of bronze was mild bronze, it contained 6% of tin and was used for making armor and helmets.

The reason behind this was, mild bronze was easier to hammer and thus give it a shape that was more difficult in classic bronze.

Technology In The Bronze Age

The development of bronze technology was the highlight of the Bronze Age, as well as the introduction of metals in the lives of people, their uses, and also the topics of metallurgy, casting, and smelting.

Although the use of bronze didn't begin at the same time in the entire world, different civilizations became aware of bronze in particular and metals in general at different times resulting in a discrepancy in their speed of development.

The invention of bronze had an effect on the entire timeline, and there was increased usage of metals. They were now used to make tools, utensils, and even weapons.

People were storing metals like bronze as a form of wealth and as a reflection of their position in society.

The Bronze Age also gave birth to the technology of the potter's wheel which is widely used even today by potters all over the world.

Did you know that the kites that we fly today on occasions and for recreational purposes were first invented during the Bronze Age? It was the Chinese civilization that gave birth to kites.

They had materials such as high-strength silk and normal silk fabric which are required to build and then fly a kite. Slowly owing to trade practices, other civilizations became aware of kites and they spread all across the world.

The Bronze Age might only be seen as the time period which involved a high usage of bronze but in fact, this age paved way for greater knowledge about metals which is reflected in the upcoming Iron Age and also marks an end to the Stone Age whose products were no longer viable to be used.

Tools Invented In the Bronze Age

The Bronze Age marks the advent of the use of metals and the development of several civilizations; there were written records and also laws laid down on tablets. Trade practices had begun and stone tools and weapons had been replaced with weapons made of bronze.

At the same time, agricultural practices were now more efficient leading to more products from the same amount of land. Let us take a closer look at some of the tools which were first invented in the Bronze Age but are used even today.

Believe it or not, ropes were first invented during the Bronze Age by the Egyptians.

Archeological surveys say that the old Egyptians had invented an apparatus that led to the creation of rope, and the materials used in making this rope were water and reed fiber.

Locks that we use today to safeguard our wealth and for other security purposes were first invented during the Bronze Age marking the time when people began to protect their wealth.

Archeologists have found some of the earliest locks in the city of Ninevah.

It is said that agricultural produce had greatly benefitted during the Bronze Age, and a lot of credit for this should go to the bronze plow along with the advanced farming techniques.

During the Paleolithic period or the Mesolithic period or the Neolithic period, plows were made up of stones, and they would get damaged pretty easily. With the introduction of the Bronze Age, as people learned about casting, plows were now made of bronze.

These plows were more durable and they had the ability to suffer some serious blows without getting severely damaged.

The wheel, arguably the greatest invention ever made by humans, was invented during the Bronze Age.

The invention of the wheel has made human life easier in unfathomable ways, and its invention further led to the invention of various other things such as chariots which played a key role in increasing trade and cross-cultural contact.

It is believed that Mesopotamian civilization was the first one to invent the wheel as archeological surveys found the oldest wheel to date in Mesopotamia. Bronze axes are one of the tools that were invented in the Bronze Age and are perhaps the most impactful invention of the time.

It was widely used for farming purposes and was much more durable than its stone predecessors.

Weapons Invented In The Bronze Age

When people gained knowledge about bronze, they realized that using casting they could even make weapons out of bronze. Metallic weapons were stronger, more durable than the stone ones which were earlier used.

Additionally, with the passage of time, craftsmen realized that they could give a weapon any shape they wanted when they made it using bronze, which led to the invention of various new weapons as well. Let us take a look at some of the weapons which were first invented in the Bronze Age.

The sickle sword is one of the most notable mentions when it comes to weapons invented during the Bronze Age. It was the Sumerian civilization that invented the sickle sword, and it was a weapon found in every professional army and kingdoms would assess the power of their armies on the basis of the weapons they possessed.

The socketed ax is another great weapon that was first invented during the Bronze Age but it was mainly used by the Mesopotamians in the Middle East.

Their army enjoyed a good advantage in possessing this ax as such was its utility and effectiveness. The ax was used for more than 2,000 years that followed.

When talking about weapons of the Bronze Age, we cannot exclude the carp's tongue sword, as its name suggests, it is a weapon exclusively used by the military and was invented during the Bronze Age.

Several artifacts of the carp's tongue sword have been discovered from Thames Valley. Some of the other items invented in the Bronze Age include bronze spearheads, cauldrons, and gouges.

Fun Facts About The Bronze Age

The Bronze Age was a turning point in the development of various civilizations; rules were laid down and the living culture was much more systematic, and of course, there was trade. Some of the significant civilizations of the Bronze Age include the likes of the Indus Valley, the Mesopotamian civilization, Mycenae, the Shang Dynasty in China.

Did you know that written accounts were first found since the Bronze Age and the Egyptians were one of the first to do it as they wrote in their writing system of hieroglyphs?

Metalworkers and metal traders are known to be the wealthiest people of the Bronze Age owing to their line of work, and they were also the most important ones in society.

The Bronze Age had kings who were supported by the military and administered all the laws which were followed in a kingdom. Interestingly, during the Bronze Age, the areas of Cornwall and Devon provided the maximum amount of tin that was used in Western Europe, whereas copper was found in North Wales.

Many bronze cast sculptures are even found today in artifacts, and the oldest bronze sculpture is believed to be the 'Dancing Girl' found from Mohenjo-daro.

When it came to food that people ate during the Bronze Age, it was primarily cereals and other plant products.

In terms of clothing, it was found that both males, as well as females, wore long tunics along with a garment that covered the upper part of their body. Some of the accessories they wore included belts, hats, and leather shoes.

The wealthier ones living in China had different outfits and wore garments made of silk.