Bronze Age, third phase in the development of material culture among the ancient peoples of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, following the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods (Old Stone Age and New Stone Age, respectively). The term also denotes the first period in which metal was used. The date at which the age began varied with regions; in Greece and China, for instance, the Bronze Age began before 3000 BCE, whereas in Britain it did not start until about 1900 BCE.

The beginning of the period is sometimes called the Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone) Age, referring to the initial use of pure copper (along with its predecessor toolmaking material, stone). Scarce at first, copper was initially used only for small or precious objects. Its use was known in eastern Anatolia by 6500 BCE, and it soon became widespread. By the middle of the 4th millennium, a rapidly developing copper metallurgy, with cast tools and weapons, was a factor leading to urbanization in Mesopotamia. By 3000 the use of copper was well known in the Middle East, had extended westward into the Mediterranean area, and was beginning to infiltrate the Neolithic cultures of Europe.

This early copper phase is commonly thought of as part of the Bronze Age, though true bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was used only rarely at first. During the 2nd millennium the use of true bronze greatly increased; the tin deposits at Cornwall, England, were much used and were responsible for a considerable part of the large production of bronze objects at that time. The age was also marked by increased specialization and the invention of the wheel and the ox-drawn plow. From about 1000 BCE the ability to heat and forge another metal, iron, brought the Bronze Age to an end, and the Iron Age began.

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  • GorbinOutOverHere [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    why the fuck do you have to stretch so fucking much? I hate stretching, it's one of the worst feelings in the world to me. It's easier to ignore actual pain than the discomfort of a deep stretch. And I have to stretch the fuck out of my fucking hamstrings at least like 20 minutes a day or they go back to being tight as shit and impairing my rowing

    it's like I get 5% more flexible every day and 4% less flexible every night but if I skip stretching for a day it's like 10% less flexible and I hate it

    • WhatDoYouMeanPodcast [comrade/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Are you doing something with your body that contributes to inflexibility? Maybe sitting too much, standing with suboptimal posture, or exercise with muscles that are compensating for inflexibility? I think I do all 3 of these things and it has profound cascading effects.

    • MemesAreTheory [he/him, any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Have I already gently chastised you for overworking a single direction? You have to push AND pull, not just one or the other. It'll result in imbalanced strength that will stiffen your muscles on one side and strain them on the other as they over/under compensate to remain in a neutral position. I know that there is no differentiation between man and machine at this point, but make sure you're doing push-ups to balance out all the rowing!

      • GorbinOutOverHere [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I've already done more pushups than most people will do in their lifetime, the real stretch problem is my hamstrings. My upper body is still pretty flexible and I can bend my arms behind my back but it's a struggle to maintain that flexibility in the face of my ever increasing muscle mass