Bronze
an alloy composed of copper and tin, sometimes with a little zinc and lead. It is harder and more fusible than copper itself. The proportions of the two constituents vary according to the purpose for which the alloy is produced.
It oxidizes very slowly, even when the air is moist, which renders it well adapted for statues and similar works of art. Bronze was in use in ancient China, Egypt, Assyria, Europe and Mexico. The tin used in parts of the or implements, the working of metal being as yet unknown. Then weapons were made of bronze, the method of alloying the two metals having been discovered, but that of working in iron being undiscovered. Finally iron took the place of bronze. These views have been generally ad adopted by geologists and archæologists, though some believe an age of copper to have intervened between those of stone and bronze. Lake dwellings of the bronze period have been found in western and central Switzerland, and one has been discovered in the Lake of Constance. Geologically, even the stone age belongs only to the recent period.