period ~3300-1200 BCE defined by widespread use of bronze (copper + tin alloy)
first writing systems: cuneiform in Sumer, hieroglyphics in Egypt
first empires: Akkadian, Egyptian, Hittite, Shang, Minoan, Mycenaean
long-distance trade networks for tin, copper, lapis lazuli, gold
emergence of codified law (Hammurabi), organized religion, monumental architecture
followed the Neolithic revolution, preceded the Iron Age
the Bronze Age Collapse (~1200 BCE) destroyed most eastern Mediterranean civilizations simultaneously
enabled by metallurgy, surplus agriculture, and writing (invention)