Bronze Age: Characteristics And Phases Of This Historical Stage
Something as simple as an alloy of two metals gave rise to a critical period for the development of humanity. The Bronze Age was the transition from nomadic humans to sedentary societies owners and defenders of their lands and crops through the most sophisticated weapons, made, of course, of that metal.
The development of agriculture together with better management of metallurgy gave way, little by little, to marked socioeconomic inequalities, power hierarchies and complex urban systems that would evolve into the greatest civilizations that ruled the ancient world.
Below we will discover what great social, cultural and economic changes occurred during the Bronze Age, a period that, if it had not occurred, we would probably be hunting rabbits in the countryside to survive.
The Bronze Age includes a long period of prehistory that historians place between 3,800 and 1,200 BC At this time, a series of intense cultural changes occurred that gave rise to the formation of the first great civilizations, together with their social structure, socioeconomic inequalities and complex culture, all of which were a consequence of a new element: bronze, a copper alloy. and tin.
This material gave rise to the manufacture of all types of utensils, from tools for working the fields to crafts to decorate the elites, which allowed all kinds of economic and cultural changes to be made. Bronze turned out to be a much more manageable metal than the one that had been used in the previous stage, copper, and would only be surpassed by the metal of the next, iron. The three ages of Copper, Bronze and Iron make up the great period of the Age of Metals.
The Bronze Age was not a homogeneous period. Historians distinguish the following three subdivisions in it:
Characteristics of the Bronze Age
As we mentioned, the Bronze Age is not a homogeneous period. The three substages that divide it show ways of living that are very different from each other.
This stage covers about 2,500 years and was immediately after the Copper Age This first period of the Bronze Age is characterized by finding collective burials, that is, piling the corpses of the recently deceased in the same place, like graves.
The human groups of this period, although they had already begun to develop agriculture in some places in the world, still had a subsistence style typical of nomads, collecting fruits and hunting animals. They traveled from region to region looking for food and, when they ran out, they changed places to escape hunger.
Some groups developed agriculture and livestock, developing special tools to work the land, made from bronze These first agricultural cultures settled in fixed places, ceasing to be nomadic and becoming sedentary. They begin to develop the idea of ownership of the land and what it gives them.
The luckiest farmers had excess crops, which they exchanged for minerals or other foods with other ranchers or members of neighboring cultures. Others who did not have such good luck preferred to attack those who had more, to seize their assets. This is why in this era weapons begin to emerge with the clear intention of defending oneself or attacking other people. The first wars arise, although tribal.
2. Middle Bronze Age
The Middle Bronze Age It lasted approximately 400 years, although the beginning and duration of this period varies depending on the region Thanks to a better development of agriculture and livestock, together with a better exploitation of steel resources, trade between human groups arises.
It is at this time that the horse has been domesticated, allowing goods to be transported from town to town more easily, especially using the help of carts and bags made of leather or plant fabrics.
Trade not only involves the exchange of food and metals, but also of manufactured objects. At this time the figure of the artisan is gaining strength and importance, allowing the creation of better weapons and more sophisticated tools, in addition to making crafts such as vessels, jugs or clothing.
With greater development of weapons and increasing interest in land control, wars are becoming more sophisticated. The first military campaigns were carried out with strategy, overcoming tribal fights based on sticks and stones with real pitched battles with swords, shields and rapiers.
3. Late Bronze Age
The Final Bronze Age lasted approximately 400 years, although as with the rest of the stages of the Bronze Age, its beginning and end are different depending on the region. Traditionally This period is considered the transition to the Iron Age and great cultural changes occur
At this time there are marked differences between members of the villages, a legacy of the two previous ages. Whether because you have been lucky with farmland or because you are a skilled warrior or craftsman, there are people who have more wealth and prestige than the rest of their neighbors in the town.
The towns become more complex, figures of power appearing similar to what would end up being, over the centuries, the first kings. To demonstrate their power, the members of these tribes who had the most wealth decorated themselves with bronze and gold jewelry, making the rest understand that they were above them.
As the art of war has progressed and better strategies have been developed and more damaging weapons have been manufactured, many towns begin to build walls or are founded in high places, where they can have a good perspective of their surroundings. Swords are more damaging and effective and the first spears are created. Sophisticated defensive clothing, such as shields, cuirasses and helmets, are also created.
From farmers to emperors
Archaeologists know that in the Bronze Age the first socioeconomic differences began to emerge, judging by the finds made in tombs. As we mentioned, it is at this age that human beings become sedentary, thanks to the improvement of agricultural techniques. If before people depended on nature, being under the chronic threat of hunger and having to constantly look for animals to hunt and fruits to collect, Now, with cultivation they have an almost unlimited source of food
But not everyone was as lucky. There were those who managed to plant their crops on very fertile lands and, in addition, they knew how to work the land, having more benefits. They exchanged their surplus for other products with other lucky farmers or artisans, which earned them a wide range of products that gave them power.
Others did not have such good luck and They either starved or had to work on someone else’s land in exchange for a little food. Those who had more gained more influence in the town, while those who had less ended up becoming their servants.
In other cases, those who had not been so lucky fought to achieve what they wanted through sophisticated stratagems. The war for control of resources is something that is very important in the Bronze Age, and for this reason it is not surprising that weapons become more sophisticated. These tools were not for hunting animals, but for defending themselves and attacking other people, stealing their crops, making them slaves or killing them to appropriate their lands.
Be that as it may, inequalities worsened over time, causing those who had more to end up holding positions of power within the town. As cultures spread and became more sophisticated, becoming the great civilizations that would be China, Mesopotamia or Egypt, their rulers, whether kings, emperors or pharaohs, probably descended from farmers who in the Bronze Age had found fertile lands or They knew how to make good weapons.
As we advance in the Bronze Age we see that the tombs of the elite were more sophisticated and full of trousseau. All types of bronze and gold jewelry, expensive fabrics and very well-crafted ornaments are some of the objects that we can find in the tombs of those who, surely, were the leaders of prehistoric towns. They were certainly not egalitarian societies.
