229
COPPER AND BRONZE ▼
The next discovery was how to make tools from metals.
Around 5,000 bce, people in Europe and Asia learned
how to extract copper by heating certain rocks. They used
the bright metal to make tools and jewellery. Around
3,500 bce, they discovered that adding a small amount
of tin to copper made a harder metal, called bronze.Short sword This
Ancient Egyptian
weapon has a smooth
handle so that it could
be gripped tightly.
The blade is ridged
for extra strength.Sickle Iron was used for
everyday tools, such as
the blade of this sickle,
set in an antler handle.
A sickle was used for
cutting hay or crops.Neck ring This
bronze neck ring
was worn by a
British Iron Age
warrior as a
protective charm.THE IRON AGE ▲
Although iron is the commonest metal on Earth, it was
the last to be used to make tools. Unlike copper and tin,
iron does not melt when heated in a fire. People did not
learn how to shape iron, by heating and beating it with
a hammer, until around 1,550 bce. While bronze was a
metal for the rich, everyone could afford iron.Bronze sword The discovery
of tougher bronze led to the
invention of a new weapon –
the sword. This one has
been cleaned to show
its golden colour.Belt boss This decoration,
which would have hung
from a belt, was made
by flattening a piece of
bronze and hammering
patterns into it.Spearhead This is the head
of a huge spear, which would
have been thrust rather than
thrown. Together with its
wooden shaft, it measured
more than 2 m (6.5 ft).Royal dagger
This bronze dagger,
decorated with
sea creatures in
gold and silver,
belonged to a
ruler of Mycenae
in Greece.Iron dagger The
scabbard of this
iron dagger is
decorated with
bronze strips.
It was found in
the River Thames,
England, and dates
from c. 550–450 bce.Iron Age sword Iron
made stronger swords
than bronze. This fine
iron sword, which is
70 cm (2.3 ft) long, was
discovered in 1987 in an
Iron Age grave. It is a
rare find because iron
objects are usually
destroyed by rust.Mirror This
is the back of
an intricately
decorated
bronze mirror.
The other side was
highly polished to
give a reflection.Axe head Bronze
tools, such as this
axe head, were
made by pouring
the molten metal
into moulds.Bronze pin Bronze,
with its gleaming
golden colour, was
popular for jewellery
among the rich. These
pins were used to
fasten clothes.228_229_Prehistory.indd 229 03/01/19 12:11 PM