Bronze and Iron AgesTechnology Bronze Age begins c. 3,300 BCETurning point Alloying copper with tin makes bronze, harder and more durable. Trade networks form across continents to obtain tin. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → First fired clay figures → First pottery → Copper smelting → Bronze Age begins Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesDocumentbritannica.comBronze Age (Britannica) ↗Editor's pickBookEric H. Cline1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeBronze Age tin trade ↗Editor's pick