Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age
The Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age are three periods of history identified
by the way people made tools and weapons. Different ancient civilizations developed at different
speeds. So you might have one group of early people using bronze tools, while another group
was still using stone tools. Those with better tools had a much easier time conquering other
groups of people. The material used to make tools and weapons most definitely had an influence
on daily life in ancient times.
Stone Age man did not have sharp claws or strong sharp teeth. He was not larger or
stronger than other animals. He could not run like deer or antelope. To survive, early man
invented and created stone and bone weapons and tools. With these tools, early man could kill
and trap those animals he needed for food. With stone axes and spears, he could defend against
those animals that he thought might be food. Since many of the tools he created were made out
of stone, this is called the Stone Age. The Stone Age is considered to have begun about two
million years ago, and ended sometime after the end of the last ice age about ten thousand years
ago.
The Bronze Age in ancient China started around 1700 BCE. This is when men learned
how to mine copper and tin to make bronze weapons. Bronze is a combination of 10% tin and
90% copper. Bronze weapons are much stronger than stone weapons. The discovery of bronze
changed many things. For one thing, miners and craftsmen were needed to mine tin and copper,
to make bronze weapons. That meant farmers had to learn how to produce more food than they
needed because not everyone was farming. That meant weavers and potters were needed to
clothe the miners and craftsmen, and to provide pottery containers to the farmers to use to store
food. There were many new inventions once the Bronze Age began in ancient China. Most
people were still farmers, but labor was getting organized through the development of jobs other
than farmers.
Around 6000 B.C., people in western Asia discovered how to use metals. They soon
realized the advantage in using metal rather than stone to make both tools and weapons. Metal
could be shaped more exactly, allowing craft workers to make more refined tools and weapons
with sharp edges and more precise shapes. Copper, silver, and gold, which were commonly
found in their elemental form, were the first metals to be used. These were relatively soft and
could be easily pounded into different shapes.
1. Why would a civilization with better tools be able to conquer other groups of people who
didn’t have as advanced tools?
2. Why is it called the Stone Age?
3. In the Bronze Age, why were some people not farming?
4. Other than tools, what did many ancient people want to use stone and metals for?
5. CHALLENGE: IF MAN WAS NOT THE STRONGEST, FASTEST, OR BIGGEST
ANIMAL, WHAT GAVE HUMANS THE ABILITY TO SURVIVE AND BUILD
STRONG SETTLEMENTS?
The Use of Metals
An important step was taken when people discovered that a rock that contained metal
could be heated to liquefy the metal (a process called smelting). The liquid metal could then be
poured into molds of clay or stone to make precisely shaped tools and weapons.
Copper was the first metal to be used in making tools. Craft workers later realized that tin
could be added to copper to make bronze. The widespread use of bronze has led historians to
speak of the period of time from 3000-1200 B.C. as the Bronze Age. Around 1200 B.C., bronze
was replaced by iron. Iron was used to make weapons with sharper and stronger edges, which
would give armies and advantage against enemies who had inferior weapons.
The Iron Age followed the Bronze Age. This was the period of time when people made
tools of iron. Iron tools were stronger than bronze tools. Weapons were more powerful. Iron
weapons began in the Middle East and in southeastern Europe around 1200 BCE. It didn't start in
China until around 600 BCE.
Looking back through time, each civilization went through a Stone Age (stone tools and
weapons), then a Bronze Age (bronze tools and weapons), and then an Iron Age (iron tools and
weapons). Each improvement in tools and weapons led to other improvements in each
civilization, improvements such as new inventions, better production of food, and new or
improved goods. These inventions depended upon the type of material discovered and then used.
Thus, the material used to make tools and weapons had a great influence on life in ancient times.
1. Define smelting:
a. Smelling metals
b. Melting metals to form shapes
c. Melting stone to create stone weapons
d. Finding liquid metal
2. How is bronze made?
3. What is the strongest of the metals mentioned?
4. CHALLENGE: WHAT MAKES ONE CIVILIZATION STRONGER THAN
OTHERS?