Read complete books and articles on: Iron Age

Iron Age - period in the development of industry that begins with the general use of iron and continues into modern times. In Asia, Egypt, and Europe it was preceded by the Bronze Age. It did not begin in the Americas until the coming of the Europeans. Iron beads were worn in Egypt as early as 4000 b.c., but these were of meteoric iron, evidently shaped by the rubbing process used in shaping implements of stone. The oldest known article of iron shaped by hammering is a dagger found in Egypt that was made before 1350 b.c. This dagger is believed not to have been made in Egypt but to be of Hittite workmanship. The use of smelted iron ornaments and ceremonial weapons became common during the period extending from 1900 to 1400 b.c. About this time, the invention of tempering (see forging) was made by the Chalybes of the Hittite empire. It is possible that the Hittite kings kept ironworking techniques secret and restricted export of iron weapons. After the downfall of the Hittite empire in 1200 b.c., the great waves of migrants spreading through S Europe and the Middle East insured the rapid transmission of iron technology. In Europe knowledge of iron smelting was acquired in Greece and the Balkans, and somewhat later in N Italy (see Etruscan civilization; Villanovan culture) and central Europe. The Early Iron Age in central Europe, dating from c.800 b.c. to c.500 b.c., is known as the Hallstatt period. Celtic migrations, beginning in the 5th cent. b.c., spread the use of iron into W Europe and to the British Isles. The Late Iron Age in Europe, which is dated from this period, is called La Tène. The casting of iron did not become technically useful until the Industrial Revolution. The people of the Iron Age developed the basic economic innovations of the Bronze Age and laid the foundations for feudal organization. They utilized the crops and domesticated animals introduced earlier from the Middle East. Ox-drawn plows and wheeled vehicles acquired a new importance and changed the agricultural patterns. For the first time humans were able to exploit efficiently the temperate forests. Villages were fortified, warfare was conducted on horseback and in horse-drawn chariots, and alphabetic writing based on the Phoenician script became widespread. Distinctive art styles in metal, pottery, and stone characterized many Iron Age cultures.

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8 of the Best Books and Articles on: Iron Age

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The European Iron Age » Read Now
by John Collis. 192 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This ambitious study documents the underlying features which link the civilizations of the Mediterranean - Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Roman - and the Iron Age cultures of central Europe, traditionally associated with the Celts. It deals with the social, economic and cultural interaction in the...
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This ambitious study documents the underlying features which link the civilizations of the Mediterranean - Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Roman - and the Iron Age cultures of central Europe, traditionally associated with the Celts. It deals with the social, economic and cultural interaction in the first millennium BC which culminated in the Roman Empire.The book has three principle themes: the spread of iron-working from its origins in Anatolia to its adoption over most of Europe; the development of a trading system throughout the Mediterrean world after the collapse of Mycenaean Greece and its spread into temperate Europe; and the rise of ever more complex societies, including states and cities, and eventually empires.Dr Collis takes a new look at such key concepts as population movement, diffusion, trade, social structure and spatial organization, with some challenging new views on the Celts in particular.
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2.

Coins and Power in Late Iron Age Britain » Read Now
by John Creighton. 249 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book deals with Britain in the centuries immediately before the Roman conquest: a period when the first individuals appeared in British history, and when a series of dynasties emerged to take control of much of Southern Britain. Combining archaeological, literary and numismatic evidence, it...
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This book deals with Britain in the centuries immediately before the Roman conquest: a period when the first individuals appeared in British history, and when a series of dynasties emerged to take control of much of Southern Britain. Combining archaeological, literary and numismatic evidence, it paints a vivid picture of how people in Late Iron Age Britain reacted to the changing world around them, and how rulers bolstered their power through use of imagery on coins, myths, language, and material culture. It includes illustrations of 246 Iron Age coins and a separate coin index.
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3.

Beyond the Brochs: Changing Perspectives on the Later Iron Age in Atlantic Scotland » Read Now
by Ian Armit. 232 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Beyond the Brochs Changing Perspectives on the Later Iron Age in Atlantic Scotland Edited by IAN ARMIT EDINBURGH...changing perspectives on the Atlantic Scottish Iron Age...
4.

Prehistoric Britain (Chap. Five "The Early Iron Age") » Read Now
by Jacquetta Hawkes, Christopher Hawkes. 280 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Age: Deverel-Rimbury invasions 750 Early Iron Age beginning 500 Early Iron Age: La Tene invasions beginning 250 Early Iron Age: Belgic invasions in Kent 75 Julius...
5.

The Prehistory of Denmark (Part IV "The Chiefdoms of the Iron Age, 500 BC-800 AD") » Read Now
by Jurgen Jensen. 332 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This synthesis of archaeological research in Denmark divides into four sections: the hunters and gatherers; the first farmers; towards a new era; and the chiefdoms of the Iron Age.
6.

Prehistoric Ireland (Chap. X "The Introduction of Iron (from 500 B.C.)") » Read Now
by Joseph Raftery. 230 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Sites 145 XIII. Early Iron Age Sites 160 XIV. Map...47. Ditch surrounding Early Iron Age burial mound, Carrowjames, Co. Mayo...211. Bronze sword chapes of the Iron Age 184...
7.

The Law and the Prophets (Chap. 10 "Iron in Central Europe" and Chap. 11 "The Iron Age in the West") » Read Now
by Harold Peake, Herbert John Fleure. 188 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

...Guide to Antiquities of the Early Iron Age British Museum for figs. 40 and...Paris for fig. 45 ; The Early Iron Age Inhabited Site at All Cannings Cross...Clarendon Press...
8.

From Sumer to Rome: The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies (Discussion of the Iron Age begins on p. 19) » Read Now
by Richard A. Gabriel, Karen S. Metz. 186 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This in-depth work demonstrates that ancient battles rivaled those of the modern period in size, complexity, and lethality. The organization of armies of the ancient world, their performance, their military operations, and their ability to raise the art of warfare to towering heights are the focus...
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This in-depth work demonstrates that ancient battles rivaled those of the modern period in size, complexity, and lethality. The organization of armies of the ancient world, their performance, their military operations, and their ability to raise the art of warfare to towering heights are the focus of this carefully documented volume. An examination is made of all the major military establishments of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Corroborative evidence is drawn from modern analysis when accepting or rejecting the claims of ancient writers. Where that was lacking, the authors conducted their own empirical studies of ancient weapons which led to better understanding of how ancient battles were really fought.
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