Metal Age

We explain what the age of metals, its characteristics and stages is. In addition, the most important inventions of this era.

What is the age of metals?

The age of metals is a European and Asian prehistory period which covers the time between 6000 and 1000 a. C., approximately, when the first metallurgical work techniques were developed. It is divided into three stages: the age of copper, the age of bronze and the age of iron

The age of metals stands out for being The stage in which the human being developed complex techniques to manipulate metals such as copper, bronze and iron. This ability allowed some civilizations to develop other economic, social and cultural changes.

Only some cultures of the current territories of Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor developed these techniques, so This form of historical dating serves only to chronologically categorize some civilizations . On the other hand, the different populations that developed these techniques did so at the wrong time, so the periodization of the metals cannot be taken in an absolute way.

Metal age characteristics

The age of metals was characterized by:

• Metal work For the creation of utensils, tools to plow the land, decoration and jewels as accessories.
• Agriculture, which increased and improved With the use of stone and metal tools, in addition to innovative techniques such as irrigation channels.
• The discovery of the Mix of metals through the cast of two or more elements. Thus the bronze emerged, after the foundry of copper with tin.
• The use of various metals such as gold, silver, tin and lead.
• The invention of the wheel that dates from the end of the Neolithic and the beginning of the age of metals. It is estimated that it was created by the Sumerians, the oldest civilization of the Near East.
• The sedentary tribes that increased in quantity and in density of inhabitants, which gave rise to the first urban nuclei.
• Housing construction and other types of buildings, such as temples, storage spaces of goods or rooms commonly used for artisanal activity.
• The appearance of megaliths for ritual or religious purposes, which consisted of huge stone blocks, erected through some complex elevation system.
• The beginning of the Metallurgy as a trade which expanded gradually and slowly throughout the world.

Temporary Metal Age Location

The age of metals corresponds to a dating form based on the material remains of prehistoric populations. As archaeological studies deepen, the forms of dating were modified and, with them, the categorization of the different prehistoric stages. Currently, specialists use the following periodization for prehistory:

• Lower, medium and upper paleolithic . From the appearance of the first humans to 10000 a. C. It is the longest stage in the history of mankind. It is characterized by the process of hominization, hunting and collection as basic principles of survival, and nomadic life in small groups.
• Epipaleolithic and Mesolithic . From 9000 a. C. until the beginning of the Neolithic in the different parts of the world. The men were specialized hunters and collectors, with the development of complex work techniques in the stone. Seminomadism.
• Neolithic . From 8000 a. C. In the East (in other parts of the world it occurs in later times) until the invention of the first metallurgical techniques. It includes the development of agriculture and livestock and the appearance of sedentary lifestyle as a way of life, in small villages.
• Metal age . From 6000 a. C. in the East (other subsequent dates for other places in the world) until the appearance of writing. It is characterized by the invention of work techniques to manipulate the different metals, and includes three major stages: the Bronze Age (also known as Calcolithic), the Copper Age and the Iron Age. Some authors refer to the age of metals with the name of protohistory.

Metal age stages

The age of metals is a period for which a precise and immovable dating cannot be established. The term is used only to refer to populations of certain areas of the next East, northern Egypt and Europe. The development of metallurgical techniques for the different populations was disparate, and an exact date that allows a common chronology for all of them cannot be specified.

However, a general and guidance dating can be established, in which the age of metals is divided into the following stages:

• Copper or calcolithic age . At this stage there are the origins of copper metallurgy, the principles of urban life in the next East (protourbanism) and the development of the first complex societies (with social hierarchy). The chronologies are diverse: while in the East the calcolithic begins towards 5000 a. C., in the Iberian Peninsula, the III Millennium A. C.
• Bronze age . This stage includes approximately between 3000 and 800 a. C. was characterized by the discovery of the alloy as a technique to melt different metals. With the alloy of copper with tin, a bronze, a more resistant metal was given. Urban life appeared in several European populations and head societies emerged.
• Iron Age . During this stage the first states appeared, the use of iron for the manufacture of weapons and tools was generalized, and the transition was given to the historical era, with the appearance of writing. As population density increased in the various territories, war clashes increased, which gave the iron a preferential place in the development of metallurgical techniques.

End of the age of metals

The end of the age of metals It is established from the invention and use of writing . With the first written records, prehistory ends and history begins (specifically with the old age). However, the appearance of writing is a fact that occurred at different times for the different populations. Many times it is linked to the appearance of centralized states.

In the next East, prehistory ends towards 3300 a. C. with the appearance of Sumerian writing in Uruk. In Egypt, this happens towards 3000 a. C., with the imposition of the first pharaonic dynasties and the appearance of the oldest records written in Abydos. On the other hand, in Greece, the age of metals ends around 800 BC, and in Italy only towards 500 BC, while in several regions of northern Europe, the iron age extends until the sixth century DC

Important inventions of the age of metals

During the age of metals, fundamental creations were developed for the growth, organization and economy of different populations. Among them, they stand out:

• The stone oven which was used to melt metals, make vessels or heat food.
• Ceramics even, with the manufacture of molds for metal smelting.
• The manufacture of Weapons and armor For war clashes.
• The fabrics With simple threads.
• The Irrigation channels to supply the big crops.
• The grain mill To grind cereals.
• The first boats of trunks and, then, with a kind of candle to be driven by the wind, which allowed to transport heavy elements.
• The wheel And, consequently, the car as a fundamental transport tool, which enabled commercial exchange at greater distances.

References

• Eiraa, JJ (2003). NOTITIONS OF GENERAL PREHISTORY. Grupo Planeta (GBS).
• Food, MH, & Steve, MJ (eds.). (1989). Prehistory (Vol. 1). 21st century of Spain editors.
• “The Metal Ages” in Britannica
• “The Metal Ages” in Oxford Up
• “Where was the wheel invented and why did it take so long to appear?” In BBC