[astrobe_]

Yes. Civilizations relying on tin were basically quite vulnerable because tin is uncommon [1]. The coincidence between late bronze age collapse and the transition to iron age seems to be explained by the fact that once the disorganization no longer allows tin trade, makers turn to the second choice, iron.

Iron making was known during bronze age, but it was technically more challenging that tin+copper because it requires higher temperatures.

It's amusing to note that it lead to the development of the iron/steel making techniques, so much so that once the tin "was back", steel was cheaper, more reliable (from the logistics perspective) and better.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_sources_and_trade_during_a...