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In the [[New World]], bronze was first used in northern [[Argentina]] before 1000 AD, and spread to the northern [[Andes]] – and some bronze work appeared in the [[Mexican]] civilizations – but bronze was not particularly important, and there is no official Bronze Age in the Americas.

In the [[New World]], bronze was first used in northern [[Argentina]] before 1000 AD, and spread to the northern [[Andes]] – and some bronze work appeared in the [[Mexican]] civilizations – but bronze was not particularly important, and there is no official Bronze Age in the Americas.

The widespread use of bronze had reached [[Scandinavia]] and the [[British Isles]] by 1500 BC; and [[China]] about 1600 BC. In [[sub-Saharan Africa]] cultures, the use of metals coincided with the widespread dissemination of iron.

The widespread use of bronze had reached [[Scandinavia]] and the [[British Isles]] by 1500 BC. In [[sub-Saharan Africa]] cultures, the use of metals coincided with the widespread dissemination of iron.

Bronze is an alloy of [[copper]] and [[tin]]. In nature these are not normally found in the same area. (In antiquity, the British Isles were referred to as the “Tin Isles” whilst the name of the island of [[Cyprus]] has its roots in the word for “copper”.) Consequently it is natural that as bronze became more important, centers had to become more organized; and as trade routes were opened up between the sites of the respective metals, technology and knowledge flowed between cultures, hastening the spread of civilization. It is not an [[accident]] that there are links between the advent of bronze working and the introduction of writing in many areas. In many places it enabled the introduction of the plough.

Bronze is an alloy of [[copper]] and [[tin]]. In nature these are not normally found in the same area. (In antiquity, the British Isles were referred to as the “Tin Isles” whilst the name of the island of [[Cyprus]] has its roots in the word for “copper”.) Consequently it is natural that as bronze became more important, centers had to become more organized; and as trade routes were opened up between the sites of the respective metals, technology and knowledge flowed between cultures, hastening the spread of civilization. It is not an [[accident]] that there are links between the advent of bronze working and the introduction of writing in many areas. In many places it enabled the introduction of the plough.