this post was submitted on 03 May 2024
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Science Memes

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we love those power laws (mander.xyz)
submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] Diplomjodler3 26 points 6 months ago (3 children)

The copper age only lasted about 1000 years. Then came the bronze age. But the iron has been going on for longer than the bronze age and copper age combined.

[–] FuglyDuck 17 points 6 months ago (2 children)

I suspect a large part of it was the collapse of civilization, at least, in that corner of the world.

[–] breadsmasher 13 points 6 months ago (1 children)

“we’re in a late stage bronzist society, it’ll collapse any day now!”

[–] FuglyDuck 19 points 6 months ago (1 children)

so, caught an article on NPR where they were interviewing an archeologist who specialized in the Sea Peoples (and the bronze age collapse). In any case, there were some points he made that stuck with me. The most pointed being that, the collapse during the bronze age (for those that lived in it,) wouldn't have known it was happening.

It was slow, happened across generations. while the climate change and other factors was inexorably moving to collapse... the changes weren't fast enough for people to notice, it was just the way things were their entire life.

[–] Aqarius 9 points 6 months ago

That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call "foreshadowing".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

What do you mean there was a mythical sea people?! Lol rabbit hole.

[–] FuglyDuck 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The sea people were climate migrants. Actually, we don’t know that much about them except to say Mesopotamia really hated them.

They may have invaded Egyptian time or two, but they really don’t known where they came from.

But it’s almost certain that the massive trade network that was highly specialized and crisscrossed the known world collapsed causing everyone to get isolated.

Tin, for example only came from one place and the mines just stopped producing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Anatolia?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I believe bronze and iron weapons are equally powerful, but bronze is a mixture of copper and tin (requiring two types of input). Iron is more plentiful than tin, so militaries do not need large supplies of tin if they can manipulate iron. Steel, I believe, needs much higher temperatures and purified inputs.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

While iron is more plentiful than tin, it is harder to purify than tin or copper. The 'iron age' refers to the time when humans started smelting iron, and making tools using various steels and other iron-based alloys. These are generally much stronger than bronze.

[–] Aqarius 4 points 6 months ago

Iron, like actual iron, is weaker than bronze. IIRC, tensile strength is copper<iron<bronze<steel, by roughly x2.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Surely we are in a steel age and not an iron age

[–] Diplomjodler3 5 points 6 months ago

Technically it was never the iron age but the steel age.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

End of silicon age and the start of the quantum age.