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Iron Age

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Ancient History,
Classical History and Mythology

   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 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 in the 12th century
   BC in the ancient Near East, ancient Greece (with the Greek Dark Ages),
   and ancient India (with the post- Rigvedic Vedic civilization). In
   other regions of Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th century BC in
   Central Europe and the 6th century BC in Northern Europe. The Iron Age
   is usually taken to end in the Mediterranean with the onset of
   historical tradition during Hellenism and the Roman Empire, the onset
   of Buddhism and Jainism in India, the onset of Confucianism in China,
   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.
   Dun Carloway broch, Lewis, Scotland
   Enlarge
   Dun Carloway broch, Lewis, Scotland
   An Iron Age thatched roof, Butser Farm, Hampshire, United Kingdom
   Enlarge
   An Iron Age thatched roof, Butser Farm, Hampshire, United Kingdom

The Iron Age

   By the Middle Bronze Age, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects
   (distinguishable from meteoric iron by the lack of nickel in the
   product) appear throughout the Levant, the Mediterranean, in Anatolia,
   Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent. In some places, their
   use appears to be ceremonial, and iron was an expensive metal, more
   expensive than gold. Some sources suggest that iron was being created
   in some places then as a by-product of copper refining, as sponge iron,
   and was not reproducible by the metallurgy of the time.

   But, in Anatolia, iron is systematically produced from a large source
   of meteoritic iron, not far from Bronze Age sources of other metals.
   The earliest systematic production and use of iron implements ther. By
   1200 BC, iron was widely used in the Middle East but did not supplant
   the dominant use of bronze for some time. At around 1800 BC, for
   reasons as yet unascertained by archaeologists, tin became scarce in
   the Levant, leading to a crisis of bronze production. Copper itself
   seemed to be in short supply. Various "pirate" groups around the
   Mediterranean, from around 1700-1800 BC onward began to attack
   fortified cities in search of bronze, to remelt into weaponry. Anatolia
   had long been a source of bronze, and its use of iron (from 2000 BC
   onward) had developed, by at least 1500BC into the manufacture of
   weaponry superior to bronze. Sub-Saharan production of iron began at
   around the same time, and seems to be clearly an independent invention
   (see Stanley J. Alpern's work in History in Africa, volume 2). Places
   that contained iron developed a prominence in the last millenium BC
   that would last into the future. The emanation of iron, combined with a
   military technology designed to complement the use of metals, emanated
   from Assyria. It is likely an Assyrian-manufactured macehead that was
   found in 1902 at Troy at a level dated to around 1200 BC. Assyria in
   fact may have considered Troy an outpost or suburb of itself. At any
   rate, iron trade between the two places was well established by that
   time, with the Assyrians jealously guarding their trade secrets of
   production.

Ancient Near East

   The Iron Age in the Ancient 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, 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.

Europe

   Iron working was introduced to Europe around 1000 BC, probably from
   Asia Minor and slowly spread northwards and westwards over the
   succeeding 500 years.

Eastern Europe

   The early 1st millennium BC marks the Iron Age in Eastern Europe. In
   the Pontic steppe and the Caucasus region, 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.

Italy

   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

   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 Europe

   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
   Gregan Iron Age.

   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.

South and East Asia

Indian Subcontinent

   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. Sahi (1979: 366) concluded
   that by the early 13th century BC, iron smelting was definitely
   practiced on a bigger scale in India, suggesting that the date the
   technology's inception may well be placed as early as the 16th century
   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 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 in English, was exported throughout much of
   Asia and Europe.

Eastern 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 (铁刃青铜钺) dating back to the 14th century BC was excavated.
   After a scientific examination, the iron was shown to be made from
   aerosiderite.

   Iron objects were introduced to Korean Peninsula the through trade with
   chiefdoms and state-level societies in the Yellow Sea area in the
   fourth century B.C., just at the end of the Warring States Period but
   before the Western Han Dynasty began (Kim 2002; Taylor 1989). Yoon
   proposes that iron was first introduced to chiefdoms located along
   North Korean river valleys that flow into the Yellow Sea such as the
   Cheongcheon and Taedong Rivers (Taylor 1989; Yoon 1989). Iron
   production quickly followed in the 2nd century B.C., and iron
   implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century A.D. in
   southern Korea (Kim 2002). The distribution of the earliest known
   cast-iron axes in southern Korea is found in the Geum River basin. At
   approximately the same time complex chiefdoms of Proto-historic Korea
   developed that were the precursors of early states such as Silla,
   Baekje, Goguryeo, and Gaya (Barnes 2001; Taylor 1989). Iron ingots that
   indicated the wealth or prestige of the deceased became an important
   mortuary item in this period (Lee 1998).

Sub-Saharan Africa

   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 revolutionized 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. Sub-Saharan Africa was still in the iron age
   with the arrival of European explorers in the 19th century.
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