The Bronze Age (c. 3300–2500 B.C.) is the period of human culture when man began using bronze metal to make objects—principally, tools. The Neolithic Age slowly came to an end as various cultures in Eurasia that had depended on wood, stone, and bone for tools began to develop the techniques for metallurgy. Bronze proved to be an excellent material for making tools and weapons. People in the Middle East learned to produce bronze by mixing tin and copper (hence, the transition years between the Neolithic Age and the Bronze Age are sometimes referred to as the Copper Age). Bronze had considerable hardness, strength, and density, and it proved more reliable and durable than the stone, wood, and bone tools that had been in use. The Bronze Age lasted until the beginning of the Iron Age.