{"timeline":{"defaultZoomLevel":"1","height":100,"asset":{},"date":[{"asset":{},"text":"

The Chalco (copper) lithic (stone) age was a period in time in which many civilizations were using both copper and stone tools and weapons.<\/p>\n","startDate":"-5500","endDate":"-3000","headline":"Chalcolithic Age"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"-3000","endDate":"-1000","headline":"Bronze Age","text":"

The Bronze Age spanned 3000 to 1000 BCE. Japan is an example of one of those civilizations that doesn't fit the Three Age system. Bronze and iron appear at the same time in Japan and some scholars speculate that iron may have appeared before <\/em>bronze.<\/p>\n"},{"asset":{},"startDate":"-1000","endDate":"0","headline":"Iron Age","text":"

The Iron Age begins in approximately 1000 BCE and beyond. We're still using iron (mixed with carbon to create steel) for most of our tools and many of our weapons.<\/p>\n"}],"language":"en","headline":"Three Ages System Timeline","text":"

Danish scholar and antiquarian C. J.Thomsen who helped develop early archaeological techniques and methods realized that he could date weapons and tools based on what these items were made out of. He noticed that tools or weapons of a certain age were usually made of only one or two materials. <\/div>\n\n
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Beginning in 1836, he developed a system of chronological ordering of these weapons and tools and began dividing the collections at the National Museum of Copenhagen into the following ages:<\/div>\n\n
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Stone to Copper Age 5500 BCE to 3000 BCE *later changed to Chalcolithic (Stone\/Copper)<\/div>\n\n
Bronze Age 3000 BCE to 1000 BCE<\/div>\n\n
Iron Age 1000 BCE and beyond<\/div>\n\n
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This system suggests a change in tool and weapon technology and the development of metallurgy in relation to tool and weapon creation. However, it is important to note that not all ancient civilizations passed through the different ages, nor that they all passed through these ages in the same order or in the same time frame. <\/div>\n\n
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Some ancient civilizations, for example, stayed in the Chalcolithic Age well past 1000 BCE. Others skipped the Copper Age entirely moving from stone directly to bronze. It is easy to assume that this is because some ancient civilizations were more advanced than others. However, this does not <\/em>indicate that a civilization was more or less advanced based on their tools and weapons materials. <\/div>\n\n
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There are many reasons why some ancient civilizations don't fit neatly into these categories. For example, they may not have had the raw materials to make tools and weapons out of certain materials or they may have felt no need to change to any other material because they were happy with their tools and weapons and didn't see a need for change.<\/div>\n"}}

Three Age Dating System

Andrea Wenckebach