BRONZE AGE

The archaeological period between the neolithic and the iron age in which bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, became the primary material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. The Bronze Age started in Eurasia at around 3000 BC (5,000 years ago) and the greater social order of the period led to the first civilisations and the earliest written records. In prehistoric Britain, it extended from ca 2200 to 800 BC. The Bronze Age did not occur in the Americas. In many areas of Europe, the remains of Bronze Age field systems are apparent in the modern landscape. These were constructed to regulate increased levels of agricultural activity. pollen analysis from Bronze Age mining [Page 115]sites in the British Isles have demonstrated that forest clearance was directly associated with bronze production and increased agricultural activity. The landscape instability resulting from forest clearance subsequently instigated the growth of blanket mires in upland areas.

[See alsocopper age, three-age system]