The Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was a period in history, after the Copper Age, where mankind learned how to smelt copper with tin ore to produce a new, stronger metal called bronze. This age brought about some of the first civilizations the world had ever seen, and would forever change both everyday life, and warfare.
The Fertile Crescent
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A map of the Fertile Crescent and its many civilizations.
The Fertile Crescent is an area in the Middle East inbetween the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - which would flood annually, leaving rich flood lands for agriculture. Bronze Age technology for the world is believed to have begun here with the Sumerians, of whom established the first civilization of the world. Along with the first civilization, they were the first society to create an organized religion and many other technological advancements. The Sumerians were pioneers of ancient warfare, having created the chariot, pioneering the phalanx formation the Greeks are famous for, and pioneering the use of sickle swords, hand axes and spears. Eventually they became part of Mesopotamia.
Europe
Throughout much of Europe, there seems to be an absence of a Copper Age, with only an abundance of pure bronze being used in places such as Ireland. Such civilizations as the Romans used iron more because of its superiority to bronze, and even when bronze was used, it was made with copper and lead rather than with tin. The lack of a Copper Age in Europe suggests that the recipe for smelting bronze with tin came from foreign peoples, of whom also exported the tin to Europe.