Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is the period in human history when metal objects were predominantly made of bronze. In Central Europe, this epoch covers the period from about 2200 to 800 BC.

The term "Bronze Age" was introduced in 1836 in a museum catalogue by the Danish prehistorian Christian Jürgensen Thomsen from Copenhagen. It corresponds to the middle stage of the three-period system developed by Thomsen, which divides European and Mediterranean prehistory and early history in particular into the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. The three-period division according to the material used is largely to be confined to Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. Since the term refers exclusively to the material used extensively, the assignment of a culture to this period says nothing about its cultural height. Thus, the beginning of the advanced civilizations of the Near East and Egypt falls in the late Neolithic, the Copper Age, and the beginning of the Bronze Age.

The production of bronze began in the 3rd millennium BC. The roots of the Bronze Age lie in the preceding Copper Age, or in those regions where this is not defined as a separate period, in the Neolithic Age, in which people in their younger periods were already partly familiar with metalworking. However, they limited themselves to solid (purely occurring) metals such as gold, silver and copper. Bronze is an alloy consisting of 90% copper and 10% tin, and is far harder than copper.

Due to the history of research, the discovery and exploration of the Bronze Age took place mainly in Europe and the Near East. Demarcation, conceptualization of individual cultures, terminology and detailed investigations have accordingly also had their focus in this region. This effect can also be found in the history of Stone Age research.

What the Bronze Age cultures have in common is that the need to organize a "metallurgical chain" led to serious upheavals in the structure of society. Access to and mastery of resources (metals, metallurgists, communication and trade routes) led to the emergence of an upper class and thus presumably to social differentiation with hereditary leadership positions. With bronze it was possible for the first time to accumulate wealth, which was also easily transportable. Bronze ingots were used as a means of payment. The emergence of strongly fortified settlements and the invention of the sword are often interpreted as an indication of an increase in warlike or predatory conflicts.

The uneven distribution of metal deposits, especially of the very rare tin needed for production, led to a "global" trade network that spread not only goods but also cultural ideas. The discovery of a Late Bronze Age trading ship (ship of Uluburun) impressively demonstrates the diversity of goods that were traded over long distances.

Regional expressions of the Bronze Age

The Near East is considered the starting point of European bronze technology. From there, the new material and also the necessary know-how were exported. In Palestine, bronze production has been proven as early as 3300 BC, in Egypt around 2700 BC, in Central Europe around 2200 BC and in Northern Europe around 1800 BC. The Bronze Age thus represents a spatio-temporally spreading development process, from which a multitude of archaeological cultures and area-dependent subdivisions result. In general, it is divided into Early, Middle and Late or Younger Bronze Age, whose absolute dating follows the general spreading process.

In contrast to the European, East Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronze Age cultures already developed their first scripts (compare illiteracy). Examples are the hieroglyphs in Egypt, the cuneiform script in the Near East and the linear script B of the Mycenaean culture. The archaeological findings can thus be supplemented, corrected and evaluated for the first time with written sources. The rulers and dynasties known from the written sources then replace the term "Bronze Age" as a tool for the chronological classification of events in science.

Cuneiform tablet 2041/2040 B.C.

Northern Europe

Central and Northern European Bronze Age

It was not until late that the Bronze Age geographically reached central (about 2200 BC) and northern Europe. For the Central European Bronze Age, trade contacts with Northern Europe (amber) and the Aegean region are proven. The rock carvings of Carschenna, a sanctuary on a mule track across the Alps, are considered to be evidence of the lively trade contacts. The Bronze Age is mainly referred to as the Tumulus Bronze Age and the Urnfield Period on the basis of the different burial forms. The most important find of the Early Bronze Age in Europe is the Nebra Sky Disk. The gold hats are considered to be special art objects of this epoch.

The Bronze Age of northern Europe and Scandinavia, known as the Nordic Bronze Age (about 1800 BC), began with a delay in accordance with the spread of the Bronze Age. Copper and tin had to be imported for lack of own deposits. Amber served as a sought-after export commodity and thus became the "Gold of the North". The metal objects of the Nordic Circle are among the most beautiful preserved products of the Bronze Age. As jewellery, bronze (Holstein belt until the turn of time) was common for even longer.

Eastern European Bronze Age Cultures

• Andronovo culture (mainly east of the Ural River and Caspian Sea) and chamber grave culture (Ural)
• North Pontic Culture (Black Sea)
• Srubna culture (Southeast Europe, West Asia)
• Turbino Group (Urals, Eastern Russia, Siberia)

Other European Bronze Age cultures

• Eagle Mountain Culture
• Aunjetits culture
• Bonnanaro culture (Sardinia)
• Capo Graziano culture (Lipari Islands)
• Castelluccio culture (Sicily)
• El Argar culture (Spain)
• Tumulus culture
• Nuragic culture (Sardinia)
• Lusatian culture
• Singen culture
• Straubing culture
• Talayotic culture (Balearic Islands)
• Terramare culture (Northern Italy)
• Torre culture (Corsica)
• Pre-Lusatian Culture
• Wessex Culture

The horse-drawn sun chariot of Trundholm represents an important part of the mythology of the Nordic Bronze Age.