Enrich bronze-working: BCE temporal tags, arsenical bronze, lost-wax dating, Bronze Age Collapse, Egypt Middle Kingdom metallurgy; fix duplicate title; remove resolved review queue

technologies/bronze-working.md

@@ -1,82 +1,34 @@
 <!-- factbase:543601 -->
 # 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. @t[3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+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. @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
 
 ## Key Facts
-- Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age) @t[3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
-- Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin
-- Earliest bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE @t[~3300 BCE]
+- Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age) @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin (tin-bronze); earlier arsenical bronze used arsenic instead of tin @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Earliest tin-bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE @t[~3300 BCE]
 - Spread to: Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Europe
 
 ## Development
-- Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period)
+- Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period) @t[~5300 BCE..3300 BCE]
+- Arsenical bronze (copper + arsenic) preceded tin-bronze and was used widely in the early Bronze Age; tin-bronze eventually replaced it due to superior strength and non-toxic production [^3]
 - 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 @t[~1600 BCE] [^2]
+- Lost-wax casting (cire perdue) technique enabled complex shapes; earliest known examples date to ~4500 BCE (Varna Necropolis, Bulgaria), with widespread bronze use from ~3500 BCE in Mesopotamia @t[~4500 BCE] [^4]
+- Chinese bronze casting (Shang dynasty, ~1600 BCE) achieved exceptional sophistication, producing large ritual vessels via piece-mold casting rather than lost-wax @t[~1600 BCE..1046 BCE] [^2]
+- Disruption of tin trade routes is considered a contributing factor to the Bronze Age Collapse (~1200 BCE), accelerating the transition to iron [^5]
 
 ## Impact
-- Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor
-- Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles
-- Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels
-- Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper
+- Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper @t[~3300 BCE..1200 BCE]
+- Egypt's Middle Kingdom metallurgists intentionally elevated arsenic content in bronze alloys to enhance strength and durability, demonstrating sophisticated metallurgical knowledge @t[~2055 BCE..1650 BCE] [^6]
 
 ---
 [^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
-
-<!-- factbase:review -->
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Period: ~3300–1200 BCE (Bronze Age)" - when was this true?
-> 1200 BCE event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Composition: ~88% copper, ~12% tin" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Earliest bronze: Mesopotamia and the Caucasus, ~3300 BCE" - when was this true?
-> 3300 BCE event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Spread to: Egypt, Indus Valley, China, Europe" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Copper smelting preceded bronze by ~2,000 years (Chalcolithic period)" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Tin was scarce; long-distance trade networks developed to source it (Cornwall..." - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Lost-wax casting technique enabled complex shapes" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Chinese bronze casting (Shang dynasty, ~1600 BCE) achieved exceptional sophis..." - when was this true?
-> 1600 BCE event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Superior weapons: Swords, spearheads, armor" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Agricultural tools: Plows, sickles" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Monumental art: Statuary, ritual vessels" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Drove long-distance trade networks for tin and copper" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Muhly (1985) [^1]; Bagley (1987) [^2].
-- [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.
+[^3]: Lechtman, H. "Arsenic Bronze: Dirty Copper or Chosen Alloy?" *Journal of Field Archaeology* 23 (1996)
+[^4]: Wikiwand, "Lost-wax casting" — oldest known examples ~4550–4450 BCE, Varna Necropolis, Bulgaria
+[^5]: Cline, E.H. *1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed* (2014) — Bronze Age Collapse and trade disruption
+[^6]: Heritage Daily, "Study reveals arsenical bronze production during Egypt's Middle Kingdom" (2025)