Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • (Classical mythology): In classical mythology, the Bronze Age is the third age of the world, succeeding the Silver Age. It is characterized as a period marked by widespread war, violence, and a decline in piety and morality.
   • (Archaeology): In archaeology and prehistory, the Bronze Age is a period of human development characterized by the widespread use of bronze for tools, weapons, and artifacts. It typically follows the Neolithic (Stone Age) and precedes the Iron Age in the three-age system.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun (Mythology):

  • In Hesiod's *Works and Days, the men of the Bronze Age were fierce and warlike.*
  • The myth describes the Bronze Age as an era of great violence.

• Proper noun (Archaeology):

  • The discovery of bronze spearheads confirmed the site dated to the Bronze Age.
  • Many European societies developed complex trade networks during the Bronze Age.

Advanced Usage

• "the Bronze Age collapse": A term used by historians and archaeologists to describe the sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive transition at the end of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East (circa 1200 BCE).
  • The causes of the Bronze Age collapse are still debated by scholars.

Variants and Related Words

• Bronze-Age (adjective): Used attributively to describe things from or characteristic of this period.
  • Bronze-Age pottery was often decorated with intricate patterns.
• Bronze (noun/verb): The metal alloy itself, primarily of copper and tin.
• Chalcolithic (adjective): Also called the Copper Age, a transitional period between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.

Synonyms

• (For the archaeological period): Pre-Iron Age period, Metal Age (broadly).
• (For the mythological period): Heroic Age (in some interpretations, though often considered a separate age).

Related Phrases

• "a Bronze Age relic": An object surviving from the Bronze Age.
  • The dagger was a priceless Bronze Age relic.
• "to usher in the Bronze Age": To mark the beginning of the Bronze Age.
  • The development of smelting technology helped usher in the Bronze Age.

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms using "Bronze Age," the term is sometimes used metaphorically to describe something considered primitive or outdated, though this is often considered a pejorative and inaccurate comparison.
  • His views on technology are from the Bronze Age. (Implies they are extremely antiquated.)

Noun

1. (classical mythology) the third age of the world, marked by war and violence
2. (archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron Ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weapons