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"Timeline Description: The Bronze Age was a period of time between the Stone Age and the Iron Age when bronze was used widely to make tools, weapons, and other implements. Bronze is made when copper is heated and mixed with tin, creating a stronger metal than copper. "

"The new findings are the result of a 14-year, high altitude study conducted in the Southern Alps. The work revealed a series of stone animal enclosures and human dwellings considered to be among the most complex high altitude Bronze Age structures in the Alps."

"By combining data from coastal Cyprus and coastal Syria, this study shows that the LBA crisis coincided with the onset of a ca. 300-year drought event 3200 years ago. This climate shift caused crop failures, dearth and famine, which precipitated or hastened socio-economic crises and forced regional human migrations at the end of the LBA in the Eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia. The integration of environmental and archaeological data along the Cypriot and Syrian coasts offers a first comprehensive insight into how and why things may have happened during this chaotic period. The 3.2 ka BP event underlines the agro-productive sensitivity of ancient Mediterranean societies to climate and demystifies the crisis at the Late Bronze Age-Iron Age transition."

"By combining data from coastal Cyprus and coastal Syria, this study shows that the LBA crisis coincided with the onset of a ca. 300-year drought event 3200 years ago. This climate shift caused crop failures, dearth and famine, which precipitated or hastened socio-economic crises and forced regional human migrations at the end of the LBA in the Eastern Mediterranean and southwest Asia. The integration of environmental and archaeological data along the Cypriot and Syrian coasts offers a first comprehensive insight into how and why things may have happened during this chaotic period. The 3.2 ka BP event underlines the agro-productive sensitivity of ancient Mediterranean societies to climate and demystifies the crisis at the Late Bronze Age-Iron Age transition."

"Les recherches archéologiques menées sur le tracé vaudois de l'autoroute A5 entre 1995 et 2004 ont révélé la présence de plusieurs occupations humaines qui se sont succédées entre environ 8000 avant J.-C. et la fin du Moyen Âge. Il y a environ 3000 ans, durant l'âge du Bronze final, un village s'étendait au pied de la colline d'Onnens. Les témoins matériels de ce site sont publiés dans le 142e volume des Cahiers d'archéologie romande."

"A 3,250-year-old Hittite dam at Alacahöyük features striking similarities to modern water management construction. Archaeologist Aykut Çınaroğlu says the dam in north-central Turkey was built for irrigation and drinking water, and the dam's clean water is still used by local farmers today. "

"Once skilled smelters could extract copper from sulfide ores, copper became much more plentiful as a metal. Eventually, however, smiths realized a new paradox: the most valuable product from these new ores was not pure copper, but a range of new substances that contained impurities."

"In ancient Egypt, the practice of mummifying animals became widespread in the first millenium B.C. Until the advent of Christianity, visitors to temples could buy animal mummy bundles as offerings to the gods. Wealthier pilgrims could also splurge on elaborate coffins shaped as creatures to hold these mummies, which ancient Egyptians probably believed represented the souls of the gods. Along with the sale of animal mummies, the production of lavish bronze and wooden coffins must have been an important source of revenue for temples."

Human migration and social change are closely linked to changes in Earth's climate. Climate shifts have both helped to foster the rise of civilizations and contributed to their demises. Over the last few decades, proxy records (tree rings, sediment cores, mineral deposits, etc.) of ancient climates and past climate shifts have become available. Studies of these records show that past periods of significant climate change often correspond to periods of social change across remote parts of the globe. While no universally accepted definition for civilization exists, here civilizations are defined as societies that rely on permanent infrastructure (i.e. cities, granaries and irrigation systems) and intensive cultivation of crops for their survival, meaning that they cannot respond to climate change simply by moving to where the weather is better nor can they readily switch to different food sources.

Human migration and social change are closely linked to changes in Earth's climate. Climate shifts have both helped to foster the rise of civilizations and contributed to their demises. Over the last few decades, proxy records (tree rings, sediment cores, mineral deposits, etc.) of ancient climates and past climate shifts have become available. Studies of these records show that past periods of significant climate change often correspond to periods of social change across remote parts of the globe. While no universally accepted definition for civilization exists, here civilizations are defined as societies that rely on permanent infrastructure (i.e. cities, granaries and irrigation systems) and intensive cultivation of crops for their survival, meaning that they cannot respond to climate change simply by moving to where the weather is better nor can they readily switch to different food sources.