“IRON MAN”
THE IRON AGE
3,500 years ago (1500 BC)
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| These Iron artifacts are from the lower (1300-1400 BC or 3,300-3,400 years ago) and middle (c. 1000 BC or 3,000 years ago) levels of Period II, Raja Nala-ka-tila, Dist. Sonbhadra, India. Credit: Photo by Rakesh Tewari, Director of Uttar Pradesh State Archaeology Department, India. This photo is used with permission. All rights reserved. |
Unlike copper and tin (which alloy to make bronze), iron ore deposits are much more common and widespread in the world. And, unlike bronze, iron is usually hammered into shape rather than cast, since the melting point of iron is significantly higher than copper or tin. The first evidence of iron smelting and manufacture of iron tools and weapons is seen with the Hittite civilization of Anatolia (Turkey) around 3500 years ago (1500 BC), and later spread with the collapse of the Hittites. By about 2500 years ago (around 500 BC), people learned that if you intentionally added carbon to iron during the forging process you could create an even harder material: steel. Blacksmiths learned that by placing iron in a charcoal fire, then hammering it by folding, then quenching in water, you could make a much higher-quality steel. Bronze tools had been primarily owned by members of the upper classes, being relatively rare and expensive, but iron tools were much more plentiful and cheaper, and became available to all members of society.
Before the advent of smelting (extracting iron from a stony ore deposit), some cultures hammered iron from meteorites into useful tools. Unlike copper and tin, iron requires a much higher temperature to melt and cast (1535 degrees Centigrade or 2795 degrees Fahrenheit), and early archaeological cultures could not generate such temperatures. Instead, they heated iron ores in a furnace called a bloomery, which created a spongy mass of iron (the “bloom”). The bloom is then hammered, which helps to separate the concentrated iron from the non-iron stone (the “slag”). Before the advent of smelting (extracting iron from a stony ore deposit), some cultures hammered iron from meteorites into useful tools. Unlike copper and tin, iron requires a much higher temperature to melt and cast (1535 degrees Centigrade or 2795 degrees Fahrenheit), and early archaeological cultures could not generate such temperatures. Instead, they heated iron ores in a furnace called a bloomery, which created a spongy mass of iron (the “bloom”). The bloom is then hammered, which helps to separate the concentrated iron from the non-iron stone (the “slag”).
HOW DO WE KNOW?
We find evidence of iron artifacts, smelting ovens, and slag starting with the Hittites in what is now Turkey beginning about 4000 years ago. With the collapse of the Hittites around 3500 years ago, iron technology spread throughout much of the Old World including Europe, East Asia, and Africa.
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
Our modern world is, to a great extent, based on iron. Our cars, trucks, railways, and larger buildings rely on iron as a principal material of construction, and new sources of iron ore are always being searched for.
WEB RESOURCES
The origins of iron-working in India: new evidence from the central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas
https://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/iron-ore.html
This is a Wikipedia article about the Iron Age.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_age
A BBC article about the British Iron Age.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/overview_british_prehistory_ironage_01.shtml
The history of the Iron Age in Ireland.
https://www.visual-arts-cork.com/cultural-history-of-ireland/iron-age-art.htm
This YouTube Celtic blacksmith demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anDCaVbna6U&feature=related
This is about the African Iron Age.
https://archaeology.about.com/od/africanironage/qt/african_iron_ag.htm
This is about the Iron Age in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age_China
This is about the Iron Age in India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age_India
