What caused the Bronze Age collapse?

The Bronze Age collapse was like a big group of friends all moving away at once, and it changed everything.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toys every day. You have strong friendships with other kids in the neighborhood, and together you build cool forts and share snacks. But one day, things start to go wrong: some of your friends stop coming over because they’re busy or sad, others get sick a lot, and then there's this huge storm that breaks down part of your favorite fort.

That’s kind of what happened with the Bronze Age, it was like a big group of powerful kingdoms in the ancient world. But then, all at once, many of them started to fall apart. Some had wars, some got sick or hungry, and others were attacked by new groups who came from far away.

• Wars made things harder, it was like fighting with your friends every day.
• Droughts and bad harvests meant people didn’t have enough food to eat, kind of like if you couldn't get your snacks anymore.
• New groups came from far away, like kids who moved in next door and wanted to play your game too.

It was a lot all at once, and that made the Bronze Age end.