Iron Age

The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the
Iron Age
prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the
Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Chalcolithic) ↑ Bronze Age
and the Bronze Age. The concept has been mostly applied to
Europe and the Ancient Near East, and, by analogy, also to other Ancient Near East (1200–550 BC)
parts of the Old World. Bronze Age collapse (1200–
1150 BC)
Anatolia, Caucasus, Levant
The duration of the Iron Age varies depending on the region
under consideration. It is defined by archaeological convention, Europe
and the mere presence of some cast or wrought iron is not Aegean (1190–700 BC)
Italy (1100–700 BC)
sufficient to represent an Iron Age culture; rather, the "Iron Balkans (1100 BC – 150 AD)
Age" begins locally when the production of iron or steel has Eastern Europe (900–650 BC)
Central Europe (800–50 BC)
been brought to the point where iron tools and weapons Great Britain (800 BC – 100 AD)
Northern Europe (500 BC – 800
superior to their bronze equivalents become widespread.[1] For AD)
South Asia (1200–200 BC)
example, Tutankhamun's meteoric iron dagger comes from the
Bronze Age. In the Ancient Near East, this transition takes place
in the wake of the so-called Bronze Age collapse, in the 12th East Asia (500 BC – 300 AD)
century BC. The technology soon spread throughout the
Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia. Its further Iron metallurgy in Africa
spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe is
somewhat delayed, and Northern Europe is reached still later,
by about 500 BC.
Iron Age metallurgy
The Iron Age is taken to end, also by convention, with the Ancient iron production
beginning of the historiographical record. This usually does not
represent a clear break in the archaeological record; for the ↓ Ancient history
Ancient Near East, the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire
c. 550 BC (considered historical by virtue of the record by Mediterranean, Greater
Herodotus) is usually taken as a cut-off date, and in Central and Persia, South Asia, China
Western Europe, the Roman conquests of the 1st century BC
serve as marking for the end of the Iron Age. The Germanic Iron Historiography
Age of Scandinavia is taken to end c. 800 AD, with the beginning
of the Viking Age. Greek, Roman, Chinese,
Medieval
In South Asia (Indian sub-continent), the Iron Age is taken to
begin with the ironworking Painted Gray Ware culture in the
18th century BC, and to end with the reign of Ashoka (3rd
century BC). The use of the term "Iron Age" in the archaeology of South, East, and Southeast
Asia is more recent and less common than for western Eurasia; at least in China prehistory had
ended before iron-working arrived, so the term is infrequently used. The Sahel (Sudan region)
and Sub-Saharan Africa are outside of the three-age system, there being no Bronze Age, but the
term "Iron Age" is sometimes used in reference to early cultures practicing ironworking such as
the Nok culture of Nigeria.

Contents
History of the concept
Chronology
Early ferrous metallurgy
Ancient Near East
 Western Asia
Egypt
Europe
Asia
Central Asia
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Image gallery
See also
References
Further reading
External links

History of the concept

The three-age system was introduced in the first half of the 19th century for the archaeology of
Europe in particular, and by the later 19th century expanded to the archaeology of the Ancient
Near East. Its name harks back to the mythological "Ages of Man" of Hesiod. As an
archaeological era, it was first introduced for Scandinavia by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen in
the 1830s. By the 1860s, it was embraced as a useful division of the "earliest history of
mankind" in general[2] and began to be applied in Assyriology. The development of the now-
conventional periodization in the archaeology of the Ancient Near East was developed in the
1920s to 1930s.[3] As its name suggests, Iron Age technology is characterized by the production
of tools and weaponry by ferrous metallurgy (ironworking), more specifically from carbon steel.

Chronology

Rough Three-age system timeline for the Ancient Near East; consult particular article for
details

Increasingly the Iron Age in Europe is being seen as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the
ancient Near East, in ancient India (with the post-Rigvedic Vedic civilization), ancient Iran, and
ancient Greece (with the Greek Dark Ages). 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 Near
Eastern Iron Age is divided into two subsections, Iron I and Iron II. Iron I (1200–1000 BC)
illustrates both continuity and discontinuity with the previous Late Bronze Age. There is no
definitive cultural break between the 13th and 12th centuries BC throughout the entire region,
although certain new features in the hill country, Transjordan and coastal region may suggest
the appearance of the Aramaean and Sea People groups. There is evidence, however, of strong
continuity with Bronze Age culture, although as one moves later into Iron I the culture begins
to diverge more significantly from that of the late 2nd millennium.
The Iron Age as an archaeological period is roughly defined as that part of the prehistory of a
culture or region during which ferrous metallurgy was the dominant technology of
metalworking.

The characteristic of an Iron Age culture is the mass production of tools and weapons made
from steel, typically alloys with a carbon content between approximately 0.30% and 1.2% by
weight. Only with the capability of the production of carbon steel does ferrous metallurgy result
in tools or weapons that are equal or superior to bronze. The use of steel has been based as
much on economics as on metallurgical advancements. Early steel was made by smelting iron.

By convention, the Iron Age in the Ancient Near East is taken to last from c. 1200 BC (the
Bronze Age collapse) to c. 550 BC (or 539 BC), roughly the beginning of historiography with
Herodotus; the end of the proto-historical period. In Central and Western Europe, the Iron Age
is taken to last from c. 800 BC to c. 1 BC, in Northern Europe from c. 500 BC to 800 AD.

In China, there is no recognizable prehistoric period characterized by ironworking, as Bronze

Age China transitions almost directly into the Qin dynasty of imperial China; "Iron Age" in the
context of China is sometimes used for the transitional period of c. 500 BC to 100 BC during
which ferrous metallurgy was present even if not dominant.

Early ferrous metallurgy

The earliest-known iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC, which were found in
burials at Gerzeh, Lower Egypt. They have been identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful
hammering.[4] Meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient
peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its native metallic state,
required no smelting of ores.[5][6]

Smelted iron appears sporadically in the archeological record from the middle Bronze Age.
Whilst terrestrial iron is naturally abundant, its high melting point of 1,538  °C (2,800  °F)
placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC. Tin's low
melting point of 231.9 °C (449.4 °F) and copper's relatively moderate melting point of 1,085 °C
(1,985 °F) placed them within the capabilities of the Neolithic pottery kilns, which date back to
6000 BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than 900 °C (1,650 °F).[7] In addition
to specially designed furnaces, ancient iron production needed to develop complex procedures
for the removal of impurities, the regulation of the admixture of carbon, and for hot-working to
achieve a useful balance of hardness and strength in steel.

The earliest tentative evidence for iron-making is a small number of iron fragments with the
appropriate amounts of carbon admixture found in the Proto-Hittite layers at Kaman-Kalehöyük
and dated to 2200–2000  BC. Akanuma (2008) concludes that "The combination of carbon
dating, archaeological context, and archaeometallurgical examination indicates that it is likely
that the use of ironware made of steel had already begun in the third millennium BC in Central
Anatolia".[8] Souckova-Siegolová (2001) shows that iron implements were made in Central
Anatolia in very limited quantities around 1800 BC and were in general use by elites, though
not by commoners, during the New Hittite Empire (∼1400–1200 BC).[9]
Similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron working in the Ganges Valley in India have
been tentatively dated to 1800  BC. Tewari (2003) concludes that "knowledge of iron smelting
and manufacturing of iron artifacts was well known in the Eastern Vindhyas and iron had been
in use in the Central Ganga Plain, at least from the early second millennium BC".[10] By the
Middle Bronze Age increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric
iron by the lack of nickel in the product) appeared in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and South
Asia. African sites are turning up dates as early as 2000-1200 BC.[11][12][13][14]

Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of large-scale iron production in around
1200  BC, marking the end of the Bronze Age. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC diffusion in the
understanding of iron metallurgy and the use of iron objects was fast and far-flung. Anthony
Snodgrass[15][16] suggests that a shortage of tin, as a part of the Bronze Age Collapse and trade
disruptions in the Mediterranean around 1300  BC, forced metalworkers to seek an alternative
to bronze. As evidence, many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during that time.
More widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at a lower cost. Thus,
even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron
implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently.[17]

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 and Balkans in the late 2nd
millennium BC (c. 1300  BC).[18] The earliest bloomery smelting of iron is found at Tell
Hammeh, Jordan around 930 BC (14C dating).

The Early Iron Age artefacts found in Kultepe site, Azerbaijan show that iron smelting was
known and used in this region before the 2nd millennium BC (as early as the 3rd millennium
BC).[19][20]

Western Asia

In the Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Akkad and Assyria, the initial use of iron reaches far
back, to perhaps 3000 BC.[21] One of the earliest smelted iron artifacts known was a dagger
with an iron blade found in a Hattic tomb in Anatolia, dating from 2500 BC.[22] The widespread
use of iron weapons which replaced bronze weapons rapidly disseminated throughout the Near
East (North Africa, southwest Asia) by the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.

The development of iron smelting was once attributed to the Hittites of Anatolia during the
Late Bronze Age. As part of the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age, the Bronze Age collapse saw
the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region. It was long
held that the success of the Hittite Empire during the Late Bronze Age had been based on the
advantages entailed by the "monopoly" on ironworking at the time.[23] Accordingly, the invading
Sea Peoples would have been responsible for spreading the knowledge through that region. The
view of such a "Hittite monopoly" has come under scrutiny and no longer represents a scholarly
consensus.[23] While there are some iron objects from Bronze Age Anatolia, the number is
comparable to iron objects found in Egypt and other places of the same time period; and only a
small number of these objects are weapons.[24]
 Finds of Iron

Early examples and distribution of non-precious metal finds.[25]

Grand
Date Crete Aegean Greece Cyprus Total Anatolia
total
1300–1200 BC 5 2 9 0 16 33 49
1200–1100 BC 1 2 8 26 37 N.A. 37
1100–1000 BC 13 3 31 33 80 N.A. 80
1000–900 BC 37+ 30 115 29 211 N.A. 211
Total Bronze Age 5 2 9 0 16 33 49
Total Iron Age 51 35 163 88 328 N.A. 328

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

          Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age

Egypt

The Iron Age in Egyptian archaeology essentially corresponds to the Third Intermediate Period
of Egypt.

Iron metal is singularly scarce in collections of Egyptian antiquities. Bronze remained the
primary material there until the conquest by Neo-Assyrian Empire in 671 BC. The explanation
of this would seem to lie in the fact that the relics are in most cases the paraphernalia of tombs,
the funeral vessels and vases, and iron being considered an impure metal by the ancient
Egyptians it was never used in their manufacture of these or for any religious purposes. It was
attributed to Seth, the spirit of evil who according to Egyptian tradition governed the central
deserts of Africa.[21] In the Black Pyramid of Abusir, dating before 2000  BC, Gaston Maspero
found some pieces of iron. In the funeral text of Pepi I, the metal is mentioned.[21] A sword
bearing the name of pharaoh Merneptah as well as a battle axe with an iron blade and gold-
decorated bronze shaft were both found in the excavation of Ugarit.[22] A dagger with an iron
blade found in Tutankhamun's tomb, 13th century BC, was recently examined and found to be
of meteoric origin.[26][27][28]

Europe
In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of prehistoric Europe
and the first of the protohistoric periods, which initially means
descriptions of a particular area by Greek and Roman writers.
For much of Europe, the period came to an abrupt local end
after conquest by the Romans, though ironworking remained the
dominant technology until recent times. Elsewhere it may last
until the early centuries AD, and either Christianization or a new
conquest in the Migration Period. Europe in the year 700 BC,
during the Iron Age
Iron working was introduced to Europe in the late 11th century
BC,[29] probably from the Caucasus, and slowly spread
northwards and westwards over the succeeding 500 years. The Iron Age did not start when iron
first appeared in Europe but it began to replace bronze in the
preparation of tools and weapons.[30] It did not happen at the
same time all around Europe; local cultural developments
played a role in the transition to the Iron Age. For example, the
Iron Age of Prehistoric Ireland begins around 500 BC (when the
Greek Iron Age had already ended) and finishes around 400 AD.
The widespread use of the technology of iron was implemented
in Europe simultaneously with Asia.[31] The prehistoric Iron Age
in Central Europe divided into two periods based on historical
events – Hallstatt culture (early Iron Age) and La Tène (late Iron
Age) cultures.[32] Material cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène
Maiden Castle, Dorset, England.
consist of 4 phases (A, B, C, D phases).[33][34][35]
More than 2,000 Iron Age
hillforts are known in Britain.

Phase A Phase B Phase C Phase D

(600–475 BC)
(1200–700 BC) (700–600 BC)
(1200–700 BC) dagger swords,
Hallstatt Pottery made of heavy iron and brooches, and ring
Flat graves
polychrome bronze swords ornaments, girdle
mounts

(450–390 BC)
(300–100 BC) (100–15 BC)
(390–300 BC)
s-shaped, spiral
iron chains, iron iron reaping-hooks,
La Tène and Iron swords, heavy
swords, belts, saws, scythes and
knives, lanceheads
heavy spearheads hammers
round designs

The Iron Age in Europe is characterized by an elaboration of designs in weapons, implements,

and utensils.[21] These are no longer cast but hammered into shape, and decoration is elaborate
and curvilinear rather than simple rectilinear; the forms and character of the ornamentation of
the northern European weapons resemble in some respects Roman arms, while in other
respects they are peculiar and evidently representative of northern art.

Citania de Briterios located in Guimaraes, Portugal is one of the examples of archaeological

sites of the Iron Age. This settlement (fortified villages) covered an area of 3.8 hectares and
served for Celtiberians as a stronghold against Roman invasions. İt dates more than 2500 years
back. The site was researched by Francisco Martins Sarmento starting from 1874. A number of
amphoras, coins, fragments of pottery, weapons, pieces of jewelry, as well as ruins of a bath and
its Pedra Formosa (literally Handsome Stone) revealed here.[36][37]

Asia

Central Asia

The Iron Age in Central Asia began when iron objects appear among the Indo-European Saka in
present-day Xinjiang between the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC, such as those found
at the cemetery site of Chawuhukou.[38]

The Pazyryk culture is an Iron Age archaeological culture (c. 6th to 3rd centuries BC) identified
by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian permafrost in the Altay
Mountains.
East Asia

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

          Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age

In China, Chinese bronze inscriptions are found around 1200 BC, preceding the development of
iron metallurgy, which was known by the 9th century BC,[39][40] Therefore, in China prehistory
had given way to history periodized by ruling dynasties by the start of iron use, so "Iron Age" is
not typically used as to describe a period in Chinese history. Iron metallurgy reached the
Yangtse Valley toward the end of the 6th century BC.[41] The few objects were found at
Changsha and Nanjing. The mortuary evidence suggests that the initial use of iron in Lingnan
belongs to the mid-to-late Warring States period (from about 350 BC). Important non-precious
husi style metal finds include Iron tools found at the tomb at Guwei-cun of the 4th century
BC.[42]

The techniques used in Lingnan are a combination of bivalve moulds of distinct southern
tradition and the incorporation of piece mould technology from the Zhongyuan. The products of
the combination of these two periods are bells, vessels, weapons and ornaments, and the
sophisticated cast.

An Iron Age culture of the Tibetan Plateau has tentatively been associated with the Zhang
Zhung culture described in early Tibetan writings.

Iron objects were introduced to the Korean peninsula through

trade with chiefdoms and state-level societies in the Yellow Sea
area in the 4th century BC, just at the end of the Warring States
Period but before the Western Han Dynasty began.[43][44] 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.[45] Iron
production quickly followed in the 2nd century BC, and iron
implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century in
southern Korea.[43] The earliest known cast-iron axes in
southern Korea are found in the Geum River basin. The time
that iron production begins is the same time that complex
chiefdoms of Proto-historic Korea emerged. The complex
chiefdoms were the precursors of early states such as Silla,
Baekje, Goguryeo, and Gaya[44][46] Iron ingots were an
important mortuary item and indicated the wealth or prestige of
the deceased in this period.[47] Silla chest and neck armour
from National Museum of Korea
In Japan, iron items, such as tools, weapons, and decorative
objects, are postulated to have entered Japan during the late
Yayoi period (c. 300  BC–AD  300)[48] or the succeeding Kofun period (c. AD  250–538), most
likely through contacts with the Korean Peninsula and China.

Distinguishing characteristics of the Yayoi period include the appearance of new pottery styles
and the start of intensive rice agriculture in paddy fields. Yayoi culture flourished in a
geographic area from southern Kyūshū to northern Honshū. The Kofun and the subsequent
Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period; The word kofun is
Japanese for the type of burial mounds dating from that era.

South Asia
 Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details
          Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age

Iron was being used in Mundigak to manufacture some items in the 3rd millennium BC such as
a small copper/bronze bell with an iron clapper, a copper/bronze rod with two iron decorative
buttons,. and a copper/bronze mirror handle with a decorative iron button.[49] Artefacts
including small knives and blades have been discovered in the Indian state of Telangana which
have been dated between 2,400 BC and 1800 BC[50][51] The history of metallurgy in the Indian
subcontinent began prior to the 3rd millennium BC. Archaeological sites in India, such as
Malhar, Dadupur, Raja Nala Ka Tila, Lahuradewa, Kosambi and Jhusi, Allahabad in present-day
Uttar Pradesh show iron implements in the period 1800–1200 BC.[10] As the evidence from the
sites Raja Nala ka tila, Malhar suggest the use of Iron in c.1800/1700 BC. The extensive use of
iron smelting is from Malhar and its surrounding area. This site is assumed as the center for
smelted bloomer iron to this area due to its location in the Karamnasa River and Ganga River.
This site shows agricultural technology as iron implements sickles, nails, clamps, spearheads,
etc. by at least c.1500 BC[52] Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial
site.[53]

The beginning of the 1st millennium BC saw extensive developments in iron metallurgy in
India. Technological advancement and mastery of iron metallurgy were achieved during this
period of peaceful settlements. One ironworking centre in east India has been dated to the first
millennium BC.[54] In Southern India (present-day Mysore) iron appeared as early as 12th to
11th centuries BC; these developments were too early for any significant close contact with the
northwest of the country.[54] The Indian Upanishads mention metallurgy.[55] and the Indian
Mauryan period saw advances in metallurgy.[56] As early as 300  BC, certainly by AD 200, high-
quality steel was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the crucible
technique. In this system, high-purity wrought iron, charcoal, and glass were mixed in a
crucible and heated until the iron melted and absorbed the carbon.[57]

The protohistoric Early Iron Age in Sri Lanka lasted from 1000  BC to 600  BC. however,
evidence of Iron usage was found in Excavation of a Protohistoric Canoe burial Site in
Haldummulla[58] and has been dated to 2400 BC. Radiocarbon evidence has been collected
from Anuradhapura and Aligala shelter in Sigiriya.[59][60][61][62] The Anuradhapura settlement
is recorded to extend 10 ha (25 acres) by 800 BC and grew to 50 ha (120 acres) by 700–600 BC
to become a town.[63] The skeletal remains of an Early Iron Age chief were excavated in
Anaikoddai, Jaffna. The name 'Ko Veta' is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried with the
skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BC. Ko, meaning "King" in Tamil,
is comparable to such names as Ko Atan and Ko Putivira occurring in contemporary Brahmi
inscriptions in south India.[64] It is also speculated that Early Iron Age sites may exist in
Kandarodai, Matota, Pilapitiya and Tissamaharama.[65]

Southeast Asia

Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details

     Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age
Archaeology in Thailand at sites Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam
Kaeo yielding metallic, stone, and glass artifacts stylistically
associated with the Indian subcontinent suggest Indianization of
Southeast Asia beginning in the 4th to 2nd centuries BC during the
late Iron Age.[66]

In Philippines and Vietnam, the Sa Huynh culture showed evidence

of an extensive trade network. Sa Huynh beads were made from
glass, carnelian, agate, olivine, zircon, gold and garnet; most of
these materials were not local to the region and were most likely
imported. Han-Dynasty-style bronze mirrors were also found in Sa
Huynh sites. Conversely, Sa Huynh produced ear ornaments have Lingling-o earrings from
been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, Taiwan Luzon, Philippines
(Orchid Island).[67]:211–217

Sub-Saharan Africa
In Sub-Saharan Africa, where there was no continent-wide universal Bronze Age, the use of
iron succeeded immediately the use of stone.[21] Metallurgy was characterized by the absence
of a Bronze Age, and the transition from stone to iron in tool substances. Early evidence for
iron technology in Sub-Saharan Africa can be found at sites such as KM2 and KM3 in northwest
Tanzania. Nubia was one of the relatively few places in Africa to have a sustained Bronze Age
along with Egypt and much of the rest of North Africa.

Very early copper and bronze working sites in Niger may date to
as early as 1500  BC. There is also evidence of iron metallurgy in
Termit, Niger from around this period.[11][68] Nubia was a major
manufacturer and exporter of iron after the expulsion of the
Nubian dynasty from Egypt by the Assyrians in the 7th century
BC.[69]

Though there is some uncertainty, some archaeologists believe

that iron metallurgy was developed independently in sub-Saharan
West Africa, separately from Eurasia and neighboring parts of
North And Northeast Africa.[70][71]

Archaeological sites containing iron smelting furnaces and slag

have also been excavated at sites in the Nsukka region of Iron Age finds in East and
southeast Nigeria in what is now Igboland: dating to 2000 BC at Southern Africa,
the site of Lejja (Eze-Uzomaka 2009)[14][71] and to 750 BC and at corresponding to the early
the site of Opi (Holl 2009).[71] The site of Gbabiri (in the Central 1st millennium Bantu
African Republic) has yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a expansion
reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop; with earliest dates of
896-773 BC and 907-796 BC respectively.[72] Similarly, smelting in
bloomery-type furnaces appear in the Nok culture of central Nigeria by about 550 BC and
possibly a few centuries earlier.[73][74][70][72]

Iron and copper working in Sub-Saharan Africa spread south and east from Central Africa in
conjunction with the Bantu expansion, from the Cameroon region to the African Great Lakes in
the 3rd century BC, reaching the Cape around AD  400.[11] However, iron working may have
been practiced in Central Africa as early as the 3rd millennium BC.[75] Instances of carbon steel
based on complex preheating principles were found to be in production around the 1st century
AD in northwest Tanzania.[76]
 Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details
          Prehistoric (or Proto-historic) Iron Age      Historic Iron Age

Image gallery
Iron Age Examples

Broborg Knivsta,
prehistoric castle

See also
Blast furnace
Fogou
Human timeline
Life timeline
List of archaeological periods
List of archaeological sites
Roman metallurgy

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Further reading
 Jan David Bakker, Stephan Maurer, Jörn-Steffen Pischke and Ferdinand Rauch. 2020. "Of Mice
and Merchants: Connectedness and the Location of Economic Activity in the Iron Age." Review
of Economics and Statistics.
Chang, Claudia. Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia: Shepherds, Farmers, and Nomads. New
York: Routledge, 2018.
Collis, John. The European Iron Age. London: B.T. Batsford, 1984.
Cunliffe, Barry W. Iron Age Britain. Rev. ed. London: Batsford, 2004.
Davis-Kimball, Jeannine, V. A Bashilov, and L. Tiablonskiĭ. Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in
the Early Iron Age. Berkeley, CA: Zinat Press, 1995.
Finkelstein, Israel, and Eli Piasetzky. "The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing?"
Near Eastern Archaeology 74.1 (2011): 50–55.
Jacobson, Esther. Burial Ritual, Gender, and Status in South Siberia in the Late Bronze–Early
Iron Age. Bloomington: Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1987.
Mazar, Amihai. "Iron Age Chronology: A Reply to I. Finkelstein". Levant 29 (1997): 157–167.
Mazar, Amihai. "The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing? Another Viewpoint".
Near Eastern Archaeology 74.2 (2011): 105–110.
Medvedskaia, I. N. Iran: Iron Age I. Oxford: B.A.R., 1982.
Shinnie, P. L. The African Iron Age. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971.
Tripathi, Vibha. The Age of Iron in South Asia: Legacy and Tradition. New Delhi: Aryan Books
International, 2001.
Waldbaum, Jane C. From Bronze to Iron: The Transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in
the Eastern Mediterranean. Göteborg: P. Aström, 1978.

External links
General

A site with a focus on Iron Age Britain (http://resourcesforhistory.com) from

resourcesforhistory.com
Human Timeline (Interactive) (http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-
interactive)—Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016).

Publications

Andre Gunder Frank and William R. Thompson, Early "Iron Age economic expansion and
contraction revisited" (http://www.safarmer.com/Indo-Eurasian/ironagetext.pdf). American
Institute of Archaeology, San Francisco, January 2004.

News

"Mass burial suggests massacre at Iron Age hill fort" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-env

ironment-13082240). Archaeologists have found evidence of a massacre linked to Iron Age
warfare at a hill fort in Derbyshire. BBC. 17 April 2011

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