Iron Age
This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age; for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man.In
archaeology, the
Iron Age is the stage in the development of any people where the use of
iron implements as tools and weapons is prominent. The adoption of this new material coincided with other changes in some past societies often including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles, although this was not always the case.
The Iron Age is the last principal period in the
three-age system for classifying
pre-historic societies, preceded by the
Bronze Age. Its date and context varies depending on the country or geographical region. Classically, the Iron Age is taken to begin with the
Greek Dark Ages in the
12th century BC in
Greece and the
Ancient Near East, the
11th century BC in
India and between the
8th (
Central Europe) and
6th (
Northern Europe) centuries BC in
Europe. The Iron Age is usually taken to end with the onset of historical tradition during
Hellenism and the
Roman Empire, or the
Early Middle Ages in the case of Northern Europe.
The Iron Age roughly corresponds to the stage at which iron production was the most sophisticated form of
metalworking. Iron's hardness, high melting point and the abundance of
iron ore sources made iron more desirable and "cheaper" than bronze and contributed greatly to its adoption as the most commonly used metal. The arrival of iron use in various areas is listed below, broadly in chronological order. Because iron working was introduced directly to the
Americas and
Australasia by European colonization, there was never an iron age in either location.
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An Iron Age thatched roof, Butser Farm, Hampshire, United Kingdom |
The first signs of iron use come from
Ancient Egypt and
Sumer, where around 4000BC small items, such as the tips of spears and ornaments, were being fashioned from iron recovered from ancient
meteorites (see
Iron: History). By
3000BC to
2000BC increasing numbers of
smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by the lack of nickel in the product) appear in
Anatolia,
Egypt,
Mesopotamia and the
Indus Valley (
Pakistan and
North India). However, their use appears to be ceremonial, and iron was an expensive metal, more expensive than
gold. Some sources suggest that iron was being created then as a by-product of
copper refining, as
sponge iron, and was not reproducible by the metallurgy of the time. The earliest systematic production and use of iron implements appears from the
14th century BC in the
Hittite Empire though recent excavations in Middle
Ganga Valley in
India done by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari show iron-working in India since
1800 BC. By
1200 BC, iron was widely used in the
Middle East but did not supplant the dominant use of
bronze for some time.
Indian Subcontinent
Recent excavations in Middle Ganga Valley done by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari show iron working in India since 1800 BC. Archaeological sites in India, such as
Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila and Lahuradewa in the state of
Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period between 1800 BC - 1200 BC.
The
Black and Red Ware culture was another early Iron Age archaeological culture of the northern
Indian Subcontinent. It is dated to roughly the 12th " 9th centuries BC, and associated with the post-
Rigvedic Vedic civilization. It reached from the upper
Gangetic plain in
Uttar Pradesh to the eastern
Vindhya range and
West Bengal.
Perhaps as early as
300 BC, although certainly by
200 A.D., high quality steel was being produced in
southern India by what Europeans would later call the
crucible technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in crucibles and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon. The resulting high-carbon steel, called
fūlāḏ فولاذ in
Arabic and
wootz by later Europeans, was exported throughout much of Asia and Europe.
Near East
The Iron Age in the
Near East is believed to have begun with the discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in
Anatolia or the
Caucasus in the late
2nd millennium BC (circa
1300 BC). From here it spread rapidly throughout the Near East as iron weapons replaced bronze weapons by the early
1st millennium BC. The use of iron weapons by the
Hittites is believed to have been a major factor in the rapid rise of the Hittite Empire. Because the area in which iron technology first developed was near the Aegean, where
Asia meets
Europe, the technology propagated equally early into both Asia and Europe, aided by Hittite expansion. The
Sea Peoples and the related
Philistines are often associated with the introduction of iron technology into Asia, as are the
Dorians with respect to
Greece. It ought also be noted that the
Assyrian Empire had trade contacts with the area in which iron technology was first developed at the time that it was developing.
East Asia
Cast-iron artifacts are found in
China that date as early as the
Zhou dynasty of the
6th century BC. An Iron Age culture of the
Tibetan Plateau has tentatively been associated with the
Zhang Zhung culture described in early Tibetan writings. In 1972, near the city of
Gaocheng (藁城) in
Shijiazhuang (now
Hebei province), an iron-bladed
bronze tomahawk ("刃'"') dating back to the
14th century BC was excavated. After a scientific examination, the iron was shown to be made from
aerosiderite.
In the Korean Peninsula, iron objects were introduced through trade just before the Western Han Dynasty began (c. 300 B.C.). Iron ingots became an important mortuary item in Proto-historic Korea. Iron production quickly followed in the 2nd century B.C., and iron implements came to be used by many farmers by the 1st century A.D. in Southern Korea.
The earliest known production of steel occurred around
1400 BC in
North Africa where steel was being produced in carbon
furnaces. The
Egyptian ruler
Tutankhamun died in
1323 BC and was buried with an iron dagger with a golden hilt. Also an Egyptian sword bearing the name of
pharaoh Merneptah and a
battle axe with an iron blade and gold-decorated bronze haft were both found in the excavation of
Ugarit (see
Ugarit: History and
Steel: History of iron and steelmaking), dating to circa
1400 BC. The
Kushite city of
Meroe near modern-day
Khartoum was an important site of iron-smelting during the 5th and 6th centuries BC.
The
Nok civilization became the first iron
smelting people in
West Africa before 1000 BC. Iron and copper working then continued to spread southward through the continent, reaching the Cape around 200 A.D. The widespread use of iron revolutionised the
Bantu farming communities who adopted it, driving out the stone tool using hunter-gatherer societies they encountered as they expanded to farm wider areas of
savannah. The technologically superior Bantu spread across southern Africa and became rich and powerful, producing iron for tools and weapons in large, industrial quantities.
Iron working was introduced to
Europe around
1000 BC, probably from
Asia Minor and slowly spread westwards over the succeeding 500 years. The Romans introduced writing and therefore ended the prehistoric Dutch Iron Age around 50 A.D.
Eastern Europe
The early 1st millennium BC marks the Iron Age in Eastern Europe. In the steppes north of the
Black Sea and
Azov Sea and the
Caucasus, the Iron Age begins with the
Koban and the
Chernogorovka and Novocerkassk cultures from ca. 900 BC. By 800 BC, it was spreading to
Hallstatt C via the alleged "
Thraco-Cimmerian" migrations. From the Hallstatt culture, the Iron Age spreads west with the
Celtic expansion from the 6th century BC. In Poland, the Iron Age reaches the late
Lusatian culture in about the 6th century, followed in some areas by the
Pomeranian culture.
The ethnic ascriptions of many Iron age cultures has been bitterly contested, as the roots of
Germanii and
Slavs were sought in this area.
Central Europe
In Central Europe, the Iron Age is generally divided in the early Iron Age
Hallstatt culture (HaC and D,
800-
450) and the late Iron Age
La Tène culture (beginning in
450 BC). The Iron age ends with the Roman Conquest.
Mediterranean Europe
In Italy, the Iron Age was probably introduced by the
Villanovan culture but this culture is otherwise considered a Bronze Age culture, while the following
Etruscan civilization is regarded as part of Iron Age proper. The Etruscan Iron Age was then ended with the rise and conquest of the
Roman Republic, which conquered the last Etruscan city of
Velzna in
265 BC.
British Isles
For a fuller discussion see the British Iron Age article.In the
British Isles, the Iron Age lasted from about the
5th century BC until the Roman conquest and until the
5th century A.D. in non-Romanised parts. Defensive structures dating from this time are often impressive, for example the
brochs of northern
Scotland and the
hill forts that dotted the rest of the islands.
Northern Scandinavia and Finland
Scandinavia (including Finland) and Northern
Balticum shows a small-scaled iron producing very early, but a further dating is currently impossible. The time varies from 3000 BC-1000 A.D. This knowledge is associated to the non-Germanic part of Scandinavia. Metalworking and
Asbestos-Ceramic pottery are somewhat synonymous in Scandinavia due to the latter's capability to resist and preserve heat. The
iron ore used is believed to have been
iron sand (such as
red soil), because its high phosphorus content can be identified in
slag. Together with
asbestos ware axes belonging to the
Ananjino Culture are sometimes found. The Asbestos-Ceramic remains a mystery, because there are other
adiabatic vessels with unknown usage.
Northern Germany and Southern Scandinavia
The Iron Age is divided into the
Pre-Roman Iron Age and the
Roman Iron Age. This is followed by the
migration period. Northern Germany and Denmark was dominated by the
Jastorf culture, whereas the culture of the southern half of the Scandinavia was dominated by the very similar
Nordic Iron Age.
*
List of archaeological periods*
List of archaeological sites*
History Of Iron*
A site with a focus on Iron Age Britain from resourcesforhistory.com
