The bronze age is one of the most advanced stages in prehistory, where humans began to use metals and metallurgical practices for their industrial and domestic use. This seminal work by Childe discusses the emergence, evolution, and impact of the Bronze Age in the history of humankind. He discusses the discovery of metallurgical technology for daily usage and trading. The book also talks about the development of bronze tools and other objects used by the early humans. The author covers his hypothesis into three different stages notably the early. middle, and later phases of the Bronze Age. Though his work mainly concentrates on the European continent, it is very important for studying world archaeology and global history.

V. Gordon Childe (1892-1957) was an Australian archaeologist and linguist who specialized in the field of prehistory of Europe. He is also known as the 'father of modern archaeology'. He is an alma mater of the University of Sydney and The Queen's College, Oxford. He authored seminal books such as The Aryans; What Happened in History, The Dawn of European Civilization, etc.

This book is intended to take up the story of prehistoric industrial development in North-western Europe from the point at which Mr M. C. Burkitt's Our Early Ancestors left it. While not a sequel to that work, mine presupposes such knowledge of general prehistory and the New Stone Age as may be found there and is intended to appeal to the same class of students. On the other hand, the nature and increased complexity of the material involves difference of treatment. And for the purposes of this more intensive study some of the divisions and classifications of the Bronze Age material, foreshadowed in one preliminary chapter of Mr Burkitt's book, have needed modification on lines explained here. Otherwise, I have refrained from duplicating his work save in so far as was necessary to make this book a complete and independent whole.

The bibliography aims primarily at indicating general works from which more detailed references can be obtained. Nevertheless, some articles of outstanding importance or describing phases of Bronze Age civilization not yet adequately dealt with in larger comprehensive works have been included, even when they appear in comparatively obscure periodicals.