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# Bronze Working

# Bronze Working

## Overview
Bronze working — the alloying of copper with tin — defined the Bronze Age (~3300–1200 BCE) and enabled advances in weaponry, tools, and art across Eurasia.

## Key Facts
- Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age)
- Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin
- Earliest bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE
- Spread to: Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Europe

## Development
- Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period)
- Tin was scarce; long-distance trade networks developed to source it (Cornwall, Afghanistan, Southeast Asia) [^1]
- Lost-wax casting technique enabled complex shapes
- Chinese bronze casting (Shang dynasty, ~1600 BCE) achieved exceptional sophistication [^2]

## Impact
- Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor
- Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles
- Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels
- Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper

---
[^1]: Muhly, J.D. "Sources of Tin and the Beginnings of Bronze Metallurgy" *American Journal of Archaeology* 89 (1985)
[^2]: Bagley, R. *Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections* (1987)
---

## Review Queue

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- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age)" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Earliest bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Spread to: Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Europe" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period)" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Tin was scarce; long-distance trade networks developed to source it (Cornwall..." - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Lost-wax casting technique enabled complex shapes" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Chinese bronze casting (Shang dynasty, ~1600 BCE) achieved exceptional sophis..." - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper" - when was this true?
> Static historical fact. No temporal tag needed.
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age)" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Earliest bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Spread to: Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Europe" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period)" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Lost-wax casting technique enabled complex shapes" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper" - what is the source?
> Muhly (1985) [^1], Bagley (1987) [^2]
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 17: "Tin was scarce; long-distance trade networks developed to source it (Cornwall..." - Muhly source from 1985 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. Muhly's foundational work on ancient metallurgy is still cited.
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 19: "Chinese bronze casting (Shang dynasty, ~1600 BCE) achieved exceptional sophis..." - Bagley source from 1987 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. Bagley's work on Chinese bronze casting is still authoritative.