Bronze and the wheel
Metal and rolling transport transform war and trade
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Bronze needs copper and tin, which rarely occur together. That forced trade networks thousands of kilometres long and made Bronze Age states mutually dependent — an early globalisation with a correspondingly early fragility. The wheel appears almost simultaneously in Mesopotamia and Central Europe, first as a potter's wheel and heavy cart. Combined with domesticated horses and later the light chariot it produced a military revolution that shaped the balance of power until iron arrived.
For children
By mixing copper with a little tin you get bronze — far harder than either metal alone. At the same time someone worked out that a round disc on an axle could roll. With bronze and wheels people could make better tools, weapons and carts.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org