Early humans smelting and working bronze, coloured artwork. Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper. During the Bronze Age (around 3300 to 1200 BC), huma

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Early humans smelting and working bronze, coloured artwork. Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper. During the Bronze Age (around 3300 to 1200 BC), humans mixed ores of tin and copper with charcoal, and heated the mixture to form bronze. This was done in a furnace (upper left). The molten bronze was then poured into a sand mould (centre right) and used to make ornaments and weapons, such as the sword held by the man at centre left. The Bronze Age came after the Stone Age, and was followed by the Iron Age. Original artwork published in Primitive Man (Louis Figuier, 1870).

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Size: 5210px × 3406px
Photo credit: © SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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