Once people didn’t have to spend all their time hunting and gathering, they had time for new things. Lots of new things. With the agricultural revolution in full swing, communities advanced quickly. Human progress included huge changes in technology, communications, religion, jewelry, art, and self-expression.
Many new technologies came out of the agricultural revolution: better tools such as plows made farming easier. Boats became more sophisticated, and so did weapons. People improved clothing, sewing, rope-making, and even storage containers. They started smelting, or melting, metals to create tools, containers, and weapons. Because people needed more metals, they started mining. At first, people smelted copper. Later, they added tin to copper to make bronze, a stronger alloy, or mix of metals. That led to the Bronze Age, beginning about 3500 BCE. Still later, people smelted iron, which led to the Iron Age, starting about 1200 BCE.
