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{{short description|Archaeological period}}
{{About|the historical/archaeological period known as the Iron Age|the mythological Iron Age|Ages of Man||}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Iron Age}}
{{Human history and prehistory}}
{{History of technology sidebar}}

The '''Iron Age''' ({{circa|1200|550&nbsp;BC}}) is the final epoch of the three historical [[Metal Ages]], after the [[Copper Age]] and [[Bronze Age]].<ref>{{Britannica URL|topic/history-of-Europe/The-Metal-Ages |title=The Metal Ages }}</ref> It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with [[prehistory]] (before recorded history) and progressing to [[protohistory]] (before written history). In this usage, it is preceded by the [[Stone Age]] (subdivided into the [[Paleolithic]], [[Mesolithic]] and [[Neolithic]]) and Bronze Age. These concepts originated for describing [[Iron Age Europe]] and the [[ancient Near East]]. In the [[archaeology of the Americas]], a five-period system is conventionally used instead; indigenous cultures there did not develop an iron economy in the [[pre-Columbian era]], though some did work [[copper]] and [[bronze]]. Indigenous metalworking arrived in [[Australia]] with European contact. Although [[meteoric iron]] has been used for millennia in many regions, the beginning of the Iron Age is defined locally around the world by archaeological convention when the production of [[Smelting|smelted]] [[iron]] (especially [[steel]] tools and weapons) replaces their [[bronze]] equivalents in common use.

In [[Anatolia]] and the [[Caucasus]], or [[Southeast Europe]], the Iron Age began {{circa|1300&nbsp;BC}}.<ref name="Waldbaum-1978">{{cite journal | last=Waldbaum | first=Jane C. | title=From bronze to iron: the transition from the bronze age to the iron age in the Eastern Mediterranean | journal=Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology | publisher=Astroem | date=1978 | url=https://ixtheo.de/Record/1076737951}}</ref> In the [[ancient Near East]], this transition occurred simultaneously with the [[Late Bronze Age collapse]], during the 12th century&nbsp;BC. The technology soon spread throughout the [[Mediterranean basin]] region and to [[South Asia]] between the 12th and 11th centuries&nbsp;BC. Its further spread to [[Central Asia]], [[Eastern Europe]], and [[Central Europe]] was somewhat delayed, and [[Northern Europe]] was not reached until c.&nbsp;the 5th century&nbsp;BC.

The [[Iron Age in India]] is stated as beginning with the ironworking [[Painted Grey Ware culture]], dating from c.&nbsp;1200 BC to the reign of [[Ashoka]] in the 3rd century&nbsp;BC. The term "Iron Age" in the archaeology of South, East, and Southeast Asia is more recent and less common than for western Eurasia. Africa did not have a universal "Bronze Age", and many areas transitioned directly from stone to iron. Some archaeologists believe that iron metallurgy was developed in sub-Saharan Africa independently from Eurasia and neighbouring parts of Northeast Africa as early as 2000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59" /><ref name="Holl-2009" /><ref name=Eze-Uzomaka />

The concept of the Iron Age ending with the beginning of the written [[historiographical record]] has not generalized well, as written language and steel use have developed at different times in different areas across the archaeological record. For instance, in China, [[recorded history|written history]] started before iron smelting began, so the term is used infrequently for the archaeology of China. In [[Mesopotamia]], written history predates iron smelting  by hundreds of years. For the ancient Near East, the establishment of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] {{circa|550&nbsp;BC|lk=no}} is used traditionally and still usually as an end date; later dates are considered historical according to the record by [[Herodotus]] despite considerable written records now being known from well back into the Bronze Age. In Central and Western Europe, the conquests by the [[Roman Empire]] during the 1st century&nbsp;BC serve as marking the end of the Iron Age. The [[Germanic Iron Age]] of Scandinavia is considered to end {{Circa|AD&nbsp;800|lk=no}}, with the beginning of the [[Viking Age]].

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==History of the concept==
[[File:Eastern and Central Europe around 750 BC.png|thumb|alt=Map showing the extent of the Chernoles culture in Eastern Europe during the late Bronze Age.]]
The [[three-age system]] of Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages was first used for the archaeology of Europe during the first half of the 19th century; by the latter half of the 19th century, it had been extended 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 to Scandinavia by [[Christian Jürgensen Thomsen]] during the 1830s. By the 1860s, it was embraced as a useful division of the "earliest history of mankind" in general<ref>{{cite book | last1=von Rotteck | first1=K. | last2=Welcker | first2=K. T. | title=Das Staats-Lexikon: Bd. | publisher=F. A. Brockhaus | series=Das Staats-Lexikon: Enzyklopädie der sämmtlichen Staatswissenschaften für alle Stände : in Verbindung mit vielen der angesehensten Publicisten Deutschlands | year=1864 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kgL__ooMXj0C&pg=PA774 | language=de | access-date=2024-07-19 | page=774}}</ref> and began to be applied in [[Assyriology]]. The development of the now-conventional [[periodization]] in the archaeology of the ancient Near East was developed during the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>''Oriental Institute Communications'', Issues 13–19, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1922, p. 55.</ref>

==Definition of "iron"==
{{main|Ferrous metallurgy#Iron smelting and the Iron Age|Archaeometallurgical slag}}
[[File:Willamette Meteorite AMNH.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Willamette Meteorite]], the thirteenth largest in the world, is an [[iron meteorite|iron–nickel meteorite]] found in the USA.]]

Meteoric iron, a natural [[iron–nickel alloy]], was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. The earliest-known meteoric iron [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] are nine small beads dated to 3200&nbsp;BC, which were found in burials [[Gerzeh culture|at Gerzeh in Lower Egypt]], having been shaped by careful hammering.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jas.2013.06.002|title=5,000 years old Egyptian iron beads made from hammered meteoritic iron|journal=Journal of Archaeological Science|volume=40|issue=12|pages=4785–4792|year=2013|last1=Rehren|first1=Thilo|last2=Belgya|first2=Tamás|last3=Jambon|first3=Albert|last4=Káli|first4=György|last5=Kasztovszky|first5=Zsolt|last6=Kis|first6=Zoltán|last7=Kovács|first7=Imre|last8=Maróti|first8=Boglárka|last9=Martinón-Torres|first9=Marcos|last10=Miniaci|first10=Gianluca|last11=Pigott|first11=Vincent C.|last12=Radivojević|first12=Miljana|last13=Rosta|first13=László|last14=Szentmiklósi|first14=László|last15=Szőkefalvi-Nagy|first15=Zoltán|bibcode=2013JArSc..40.4785R |url=http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1430496/1/Rehren_et_al_2013_Petrie_iron_beads_JAS_40.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Rapp | first=G. R. | title=Archaeomineralogy | publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg | series=Natural Science in Archaeology | year=2002 | isbn=978-3-540-42579-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VMVguiMmY0C&pg=PA164 | page=164}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Hummel | first=R.E. | title=Understanding Materials Science: History, Properties, Applications, Second Edition | publisher=Springer | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-387-20939-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DaAmwiJ4rnEC&pg=PA125 | page=125}}</ref>

The characteristic of an Iron Age culture is the mass production of tools and weapons made not just of found iron, but from [[Smelting#Early iron smelting|smelted steel alloys]] with an added [[carbon]] content.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}} Only with the capability of the production of carbon steel does [[ferrous metallurgy]] result in tools or weapons that are harder and lighter than [[bronze]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Smelted iron appears sporadically in the archeological record from the middle [[Bronze Age]]. Whilst terrestrial iron is abundant naturally, temperatures above {{cvt|1250|°C}} are required to smelt it, impractical to achieve with the technology available commonly until the end of the second millennium&nbsp;BC. In contrast, the components of bronze—tin with a melting point of {{cvt|231.9|°C}} and copper with a relatively moderate melting point of {{cvt|1,085|°C}}—were within the capabilities of Neolithic [[kiln]]s, which date back to 6000&nbsp;BC and were able to produce temperatures greater than {{cvt|900|°C}}.<ref>{{cite book | last1=McClellan | first1=J.E. | last2=Dorn | first2=H. | title=Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction | publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-8018-8360-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aJgp94zNwNQC | page=21}}</ref>

In addition to specially designed furnaces, ancient iron production required the development of complex procedures for the removal of impurities, the regulation of the admixture of carbon, and the invention of hot-working to achieve a useful balance of hardness and strength in steel.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}

==Chronological history==
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===Earliest evidence===
<!--Recent news reports of earliest iron usage in Tamil Nadu's Sivagalai site should not be added till claims are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Please refer to prior talk page discussions and citations in subsequent paragraph.-->
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]] in modern-day [[Turkey]], dated to 2200–2000&nbsp;BC. Akanuma (2008) concludes that "The combination of carbon dating, archaeological context, and [[Archaeometallurgy|archaeometallurgical]] examination indicates that it is likely that the use of ironware made of steel had already begun in the third millennium&nbsp;BC in Central Anatolia."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Akanuma |first=Hideo |title=The Significance of Early Bronze Age Iron Objects from Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey |journal=Anatolian Archaeological Studies |volume=17 |pages=313–320 |year=2008 |url=http://www.jiaa-kaman.org/pdfs/aas_17/AAS_17_Akanuma_H_pp_313_320.pdf |publisher=Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology |place=Tokyo |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=4 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326030515/http://www.jiaa-kaman.org/pdfs/aas_17/AAS_17_Akanuma_H_pp_313_320.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Souckova-Siegolová (2001) shows that iron implements were made in Central Anatolia in very limited quantities about 1800&nbsp;BC and were in general use by elites, though not by commoners, during the Neo-Hittite Empire ({{circa|1400–1200&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Souckova-Siegolová |first=J.|title=Treatment and usage of iron in the Hittite empire in the 2nd millennium BC|journal=Mediterranean Archaeology |volume=14 |pages=189–193 |year=2001}}</ref>

Similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron-working in the [[Ganges]] Valley in India have been dated tentatively to 1800&nbsp;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&nbsp;BC".<ref name= "Tewari" /> (Recently reported claims of much earlier datings for iron smelting in [[Tamil Nadu]]'s Sivagalai site are not yet published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and have been questioned by some scholars.{{refn|group=note|The radiometric datings spanning a range from 3345 BCE to 1155 BCE "raise many questions [...] as no culture would remain static, materially for two thousand years," and it was the earliest charcoal datings which selectively were announced as being the date of iron usage in disregard of the basic principles of archaeological [[Stratigraphy (archaeology)|stratigraphy]]. The presence of materials of completely different ages found nearby and mixed together can be an indication of [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbances]] in the stratigraphy. The reporting has also been criticised for "political theatrics."<ref>{{cite web | last=Ahluwalia | first=Disha | title=Tamil Nadu's Iron Age report is a turning point in Indian archaeology. It needs more research | website=ThePrint | date=25 January 2025 | url=https://theprint.in/opinion/tamil-nadus-iron-age-report-is-a-turning-point-in-indian-archaeology-it-needs-more-research/2462784/ | access-date=9 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Krishnan | first=P A | title=Tamil Nadu CM's Iron Age Claims: Omitting Inconvenient Questions | website=Outlook India | date=12 February 2025 | url=https://www.outlookindia.com/national/tamil-nadu-cms-iron-age-claims-omitting-inconvenient-questions | access-date=24 April 2025}}</ref>}}) 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 revealing dates as early as 2000–1200&nbsp;BC.<ref name="millermintz" /><ref>{{cite web | title=How Old is the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa? | website=homestead.com | date=2007-02-19 | url=http://www.homestead.com/wysinger/ironage.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013215324/http://www.homestead.com/wysinger/ironage.html | archive-date=2007-10-13 | url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Alpern | first=Stanley B. | title=Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa | journal=History in Africa | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=32 | year=2005 | issn=0361-5413 | doi=10.1353/hia.2005.0003 | pages=41–94 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/53/article/187874/pdf| url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=Eze-Uzomaka>{{cite journal|last1=Eze–Uzomaka|first1= Pamela|title=Iron and its influence on the prehistoric site of Lejja |url=https://www.academia.edu/4103707|website=Academia |publisher= University of Nigeria, Nsukka |access-date=12 December 2014}}</ref>  However, some recent studies date the inception of iron metallurgy in Africa between 3000 and 2500&nbsp;BC, with evidence existing for early iron metallurgy in parts of Nigeria, [[Cameroon]], and Central Africa, from as early as around 2000&nbsp;BC.&nbsp;The Nok culture of Nigeria may have practiced iron smelting from as early as 1000 BC, while the nearby Djenné-Djenno culture of the [[Niger Valley]] in Mali shows evidence of iron production from c.&nbsp;250 BC. Iron technology across much of sub-Saharan Africa has an African origin dating to before 2000 BC. These findings confirm the independent invention of iron smelting in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alpern |first=Stanley B. |date=January 2005 |title=Did They or Didn't They Invent It? Iron in Sub-Saharan Africa |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/history-in-africa/article/abs/did-they-or-didnt-they-invent-it-iron-in-subsaharan-africa/DB40377A90535C7041DC10159B43C50F?utm_source=chatgpt.com |journal=History in Africa |language=en |volume=32 |pages=41–94 |doi=10.1353/hia.2005.0003 |issn=0361-5413|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Beginning===
[[File:Krieger von Hirschlanden.jpg|thumb|Copy of The [[Warrior of Hirschlanden]] (German: ''Krieger von Hirschlanden''), a [[statue]] of a nude [[Phallic symbol|ithyphallic]] warrior made of [[sandstone]], the oldest known Iron Age life-size anthropomorphic statue north of the [[Alps]].]]

Although [[meteoric iron]] has been used for millennia in many regions, the beginning of the Iron Age is defined locally around the world by archaeological convention when the production of smelted [[iron]] (especially [[steel]] tools and weapons) replaces their [[bronze]] equivalents in common use.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Milisauskas |editor-first=Sarunas |title=European Prehistory: A Survey |year=2002 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0306467936 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=roMxst3NKtwC&pg=PA335 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221123124135/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=roMxst3NKtwC&pg=PA335 |archive-date=23 November 2022}}</ref>

Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of large-scale global iron production about 1200&nbsp;BC, marking the end of the [[Bronze Age]]. The Iron Age in Europe is often considered as a part of the [[Bronze Age collapse]] in the [[ancient Near East]].

[[Anthony Snodgrass]] suggests that a shortage of tin and trade disruptions in the Mediterranean about 1300&nbsp;BC forced [[Smith (metalwork)|metalworkers]] to seek an alternative to bronze.<ref>{{cite book |first=A.M. |last=Snodgrass |year=1966 |title=Arms and Armour of the Greeks |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=A.M. |last=Snodgrass |year=1971 |title=The Dark Age of Greece |publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh}}</ref> Many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during that time, and more widespread use of iron resulted in improved steel-making technology and lower costs. When tin became readily available again, iron was cheaper, stronger and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently.<ref>{{cite book |editor1=[[Theodore Wertime]] |editor2=J.D. Muhly |title=The Coming of the Age of Iron |publisher=New Haven |year=1979}}</ref>

In [[Hallstatt culture|Central]] and Western Europe, the Iron Age lasted from {{Circa|800 BC}} to {{Circa|1 BC}}, beginning in [[pre-Roman Iron Age]] Northern Europe in {{Circa|600 BC}}, and reaching [[Iron Age Scandinavia|Northern Scandinavian]] Europe about {{Circa|500 BC}}.

The Iron Age in the [[ancient Near East]] is considered to last from {{Circa|1200 BC}} (the [[Bronze Age collapse]]) to {{Circa|550 BC}} (or [[Battle of Opis|539 BC]]), roughly the beginning of [[historiography]] with [[Herodotus]], marking the end of the [[proto-historical]] period.

In [[History of China|China]], because writing was developed first, there is no recognizable prehistoric period characterized by ironworking, and the [[Bronze Age China]] transitions almost directly into the [[Qin dynasty]] of imperial China. [[Iron Age China|"Iron Age"]] in the context of China is used sometimes for the transitional period of {{Circa|900 BC}} to 100 BC during which ferrous metallurgy was present even if not dominant.

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===Ancient Near East===
The Iron Age in the [[ancient Near East]] is believed to have begun after the discovery of iron smelting and smithing techniques in Anatolia, the [[Caucasus]] or [[Southeast Europe]] {{circa|1300&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}.<ref name="Waldbaum-1978"/> The earliest [[bloomery]] smelting of iron is found at [[Tell Hammeh]], Jordan {{circa|930&nbsp;BC|lk=no}} (determined from [[C14 dating|<sup>14</sup>C dating]]).

The Early Iron Age in the Caucasus area is divided conventionally into two periods: Early Iron I ({{circa|1100&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}), and Early Iron II (10th–9th centuries&nbsp;BC). Many of the material culture traditions of the Late Bronze Age continued into the Early Iron Age. Thus, there is a sociocultural continuity during this transitional period.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/iron-age-caucasia |title=Iron Age Caucasia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411083117/https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/iron-age-caucasia |archive-date=11 April 2022 |via=encyclopedia.com |encyclopedia=Ancient Europe, 8000 B.C. to A.D. 1000: Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World}}</ref>

In Iran, the earliest actual iron artifacts were unknown until the 9th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite web | title=Iron Age | website=Encyclopædia Iranica | date=2006-12-15 | url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iron-age | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616081236/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iron-age | archive-date=2022-06-16 | url-status=live }}</ref> For Iran, the best studied archaeological site during this time period is [[Teppe Hasanlu]].

====West Asia====
In the [[Mesopotamian]] states of [[Sumer]], [[Akkadian Empire|Akkad]] and [[Assyria]], the initial use of iron dates to perhaps 3000&nbsp;BC.<ref name="EB1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Iron Age}}</ref> One of the earliest smelted iron artifacts known is a dagger with an iron blade found in a [[Hattians|Hattic]] tomb in [[Anatolia]], dating from 2500&nbsp;BC.<ref name=cowen>{{cite web|first =Richard |last =Cowen |title = Chapter 5: The Age of Iron|url = http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH5.html |website = Essays on Geology, History, and People|publisher = UC Davis|url-status=dead|date = April 1999|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180119085111/http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH5.html|archive-date = 19 January 2018}}</ref> The widespread use of iron weapons which replaced bronze weapons rapidly disseminated throughout the [[Near East]] by the beginning of the 1st millennium&nbsp;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 and Early Iron Age, the [[Bronze Age collapse]] saw the slow, comparatively continuous spread of iron-working technology in the region. It was long believed 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.<ref name="Muhly-2003">{{cite book |last=Muhly |first=James D. |chapter=Metalworking/Mining in the Levant |pages= 174–183 |title=Near Eastern Archaeology |editor=Suzanne Richard |year=2003}}</ref> Accordingly, the invading [[Sea Peoples]] would have been responsible for spreading the knowledge through that region. The idea of such a "Hittite monopoly" has been examined more thoroughly and no longer represents a scholarly consensus.<ref name="Muhly-2003"/> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Waldbaum |first=Jane C. |title=From Bronze to Iron |location=Gothenburg |publisher=Paul Astöms |year=1978 |pages=56–58}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="float:center; margin:0 0 1em 1em; clear:right;"
|+Early examples and distribution of non-precious metal finds<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.wolftree.freeserve.co.uk/Phoenician/Early_Metalworking.html |first=Alex |last=Webb |title=Metalworking in Ancient Greece |work= Wolf tree | via = Freeserve |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071201162453/http://www.wolftree.freeserve.co.uk/Phoenician/Early_Metalworking.html |archive-date=2007-12-01}}</ref>{{self-published source|certain=y|reason=Freeserve is (rather was) merely an ISP, not a "work"|date=October 2023}}
! style="width:130px;" | Date
! style="width:60px;" | Crete
! style="width:60px;" | Aegean
! style="width:60px;" | Greece
! style="width:60px;" | Cyprus
! style="width:80px;" | Sub-totals
! style="width:60px;" | Anatolia
! style="width:60px;" | Totals
|-
| 1300–1200 BC
|5
|2
|9
|0
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|16
|33
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|49
|-style="background:#FFFFDD;"
| {{nowrap|'''Total Bronze Age'''}}
|5
|2
|9
|0
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|16
|33
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|49
|-
| 1200–1100 BC
|1
|2
|8
|26
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|37
|N/A
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|37
|-
| 1100–1000 BC
|13
|3
|31
|33
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|80
|N/A
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|80
|-
| 1000–900 BC
|37+
|30
|115
|29
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|211
|N/A
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|211
|-style="background:#FFFFDD;"
| '''Total Iron Age'''
|51
|35
|163
|88
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|328
|N/A
|style="background:#DDEEFF;"|328
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 from: -1300 till: -600 shift:(0,5) text:[[Ancient Near East]]
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Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or [[proto-historic]]) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age

====Egypt====
{{main|Third Intermediate Period of Egypt}}

In the [[Abusir|Black Pyramid of Abusir]], dating before 2000&nbsp;BC, [[Gaston Maspero]] found some pieces of iron. In the funeral text of [[Pepi I]], the metal is mentioned.<ref name="EB1911" /> Iron metal is singularly scarce in collections of Egyptian [[antiquities]]. Bronze remained the primary material there until the conquest by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] in 671 BC. The explanation of this would seem to be that the relics are in most cases the paraphernalia of [[tomb]]s, the funeral vessels and vases, and iron being considered an impure metal by the [[ancient Egypt]]ian<nowiki/>s 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.<ref name="EB1911" />  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.<ref name="cowen" /> A [[Tutankhamun's meteoric iron dagger|dagger with an iron blade found in Tutankhamun's tomb]], 13th century BC, was examined recently and found to be of meteoric origin.<ref>{{cite journal | title =The meteoritic origin of Tutankhamun's iron dagger blade | journal =Meteoritics & Planetary Science | volume =51 | issue =7 | page =1301 | doi =10.1111/maps.12664| year =2016 | last1 =Comelli | first1 =Daniela | last2 = d'Orazio | first2 =Massimo | last3 =Folco | first3 =Luigi | last4 = El-Halwagym| first4 =Mahmud | bibcode =2016M&PS...51.1301C |display-authors= etal| doi-access =free| hdl =11568/794614 | hdl-access =free }}  Free full text available.</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Walsh | first = Declan | title =King Tut's Dagger Made of 'Iron From the Sky,' Researchers Say | newspaper =[[The New York Times]] | location =NYC | quote = ...the blade's composition of iron, nickel and cobalt was an approximate match for a meteorite that landed in northern Egypt. The result "strongly suggests an extraterrestrial origin"... | date =2 June 2016 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/03/world/middleeast/king-tuts-dagger-made-of-iron-from-the-sky-researchers-say.html | access-date =4 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Panko | first = Ben | title =King Tut's dagger made from an ancient meteorite | newspaper =[[Science (journal)|Science]] | publisher =[[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] | date =2 June 2016 | url = https://www.science.org/content/article/king-tut-s-dagger-made-ancient-meteorite | access-date =5 June 2016}}</ref>

===Europe===
{{main|Iron Age Europe}}

[[File: Aerial photograph of Maiden Castle, 1935.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Maiden Castle, Dorset|Maiden Castle]], Dorset, England. More than 2,000 Iron Age [[Hillforts in Britain|hillforts]] are known in Britain.]]

In Europe, the Iron Age is the last stage of [[prehistoric Europe]] and the first of the [[protohistory|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 during the [[Migration Period]].

[[Ferrous metallurgy|Iron working]] was introduced to Europe during the late 11th century BC,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Riederer |first1=Josef |last2=Wartke |first2=Ralf-B. |title=Iron |editor1=Cancik, Hubert |editor2=Schneider, Helmuth |encyclopedia=[[Brill's New Pauly]] |publisher=Brill |year=2009}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Britannica URL|topic/history-of-Europe/The-Iron-Age|title=History of Europe – The Iron Age}}</ref> It did not happen at the same time throughout Europe; local cultural developments played a role in the transition to the Iron Age. For example, the Iron Age of [[Prehistoric Ireland]] begins about 500 BC (when the Greek Iron Age had already ended) and finishes about 400 AD. The widespread use of the technology of iron was implemented in Europe simultaneously with Asia.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Collis |title=The European Iron Age |year=1989}}</ref> The prehistoric Iron Age in Central Europe is divided into two periods based on the [[Hallstatt culture]] (early Iron Age) and [[La Tène culture|La Tène]] (late Iron Age) cultures.<ref>{{Britannica URL|topic/history-of-Europe/The-chronology-of-the-Metal-Ages#ref309570|title=History of Europe – The chronology of the Metal Ages}}</ref> Material cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène consist of 4 phases (A, B, C, D).<ref>{{Britannica URL|place/La-Tene#ref111430|title=La Tène {{!}} archaeological site, Switzerland}}</ref><ref>{{Britannica URL|place/Hallstatt-archaeological-site-Austria|title=Hallstatt {{!}} archaeological site, Austria}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Exploring The World of "The Celts"|publisher=Thames and Hudson |edition=1st paperback |year=2005|isbn=978-0-500-27998-4|page=21}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Culture
!Phase A
!Phase B
!Phase C
!Phase D
|-
!Hallstatt
|1200–700 BC<br>Flat graves
|1200–700 BC<br>Pottery made of polychrome
|700–600 BC<br>Heavy iron and bronze swords
|600–475 BC<br>Dagger swords, brooches, and ring ornaments, girdle mounts
|-
!La Tène
|450–390 BC<br>S-shaped, spiral and round designs
|390–300 BC<br>Iron swords, heavy knives, lanceheads
|300–100 BC<br>Iron chains, iron swords, belts, heavy spearheads
|100–15 BC<br>Iron reaping-hooks, saws, scythes and hammers
|}
[[File:Cogotas-II (dagas)-Segunda Edad del Hierro.jpg|thumb|upright|A sword of the Iron Age Cogotas II culture in Spain.]]
The Iron Age in Europe is characterized by an elaboration of designs of weapons, implements, and utensils.<ref name="EB1911"/> 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ransone |first1=Rob |title=Genesis Too: A Rational Story of How All Things Began and the Main Events that Have Shaped Our World |date= 2019 |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |isbn=978-1-64426237-5 |page=45}}</ref>

[[Citânia de Briteiros]], located in [[Guimarães]], Portugal, is one of the examples of archaeological sites of the Iron Age. This settlement (fortified villages) covered an area of {{convert|3.8|hectare}}, and served as a Celtiberian 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 [[amphora]]s (containers usually for wine or olive oil), coins, fragments of pottery, weapons, pieces of jewelry, as well as ruins of a bath and its {{lang|la|pedra formosa}} ({{literal translation|lk=no|handsome stone}}) revealed here.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wceh2014.ecum.uminho.pt/images/editortexto/Cit%C3%A2nia%20de%20Briteiros_English.pdf|title=Citânia de Briteiros|author=Francisco Sande Lemos|translator=Andreia Cunha Silva|access-date=2021-02-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csarmento.uminho.pt/docs/nephl/citania/citania_de_briteiros.pdf|title=Citânia de Briteiros|language=Portuguese|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-date=16 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516161706/http://www.csarmento.uminho.pt/docs/nephl/citania/citania_de_briteiros.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Asia===

====Central Asia====
The Iron Age began in [[Central Asia]] with the [[Saka]], an [[Eastern Iranian]] people who lived in present-day [[Xinjiang]], between the 10th and the 7th centuries&nbsp;BC, attested at sites like the cemetery at Chawuhukou.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Hall | first=Mark E. | title=Towards an absolute chronology for the Iron Age of Inner Asia | journal=Antiquity | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=71 | issue=274 | year=1997 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.1017/s0003598x00085781 | pages=863–874}}</ref>

The [[Pazyryk culture]] is an Iron Age [[archaeological culture]] ({{Circa|6th–3rd centuries&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}) identified by excavated artifacts and mummified humans found in the Siberian [[permafrost]] in the [[Altai Mountains]].

====East Asia====
{{further|History of metallurgy in China#Iron}}
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Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age
In China, [[Chinese bronze inscriptions]] are found around 1200&nbsp;BC, preceding the development of iron metallurgy, which was known by the 9th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|first =David N.|last = Keightley |title = The Origins of Chinese Civilization|page= 226|isbn = 978-0-520-04229-2|publisher= University of California Press|date = September 1983}}</ref> Iron metallurgy reached the [[Yangtze]] valley in the late 6th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book |last =Higham|first= Charles|date= 1996|title =The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RZ-CV14nXHcC|publisher = Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-0-521-56505-9}}</ref> 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 {{circa|350&nbsp;BC|lk=no}}). Important non-precious husi style metal finds include iron tools found at the tomb at Guwei-cun of the 4th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book | title=Encyclopedia of World Art: Landscape in art to Micronesian cultures | publisher=McGraw-Hill | year=1964 }}</ref>

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 been associated tentatively with the [[Zhangzhung culture]] described by early Tibetan writings.

{{anchor|Japan}}
In Japan, iron items, such as tools, weapons, and decorative objects, are postulated to have entered Japan during the late [[Yayoi period]] ({{circa|300&nbsp;BC|300&nbsp;AD|lk=no}})<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.t-net.ne.jp/~keally/preh.html|title = Prehistoric Archaeological Periods in Japan|first= Charles T. |last =Keally|website = Japanese Archaeology|date = 14 October 2002}}</ref> or the succeeding [[Kofun period]] ({{circa|250|lk=no}}{{snd}}538&nbsp;AD), most likely from 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 period]]s are sometimes referred to collectively as the [[Yamato period]]; The word {{tlit|ja|kofun}} is Japanese for the type of [[tumulus|burial mounds]] dating from that era.

{{anchor|Korea}}
[[File:Korea-Silla-Iron.armor-01.jpg|thumb|[[Silla]] chest and neck armour from the [[National Museum of Korea]] in [[Seoul]] (3rd century&nbsp;AD)]]

Iron objects were introduced to the [[Korean peninsula]] through trade with chiefdoms and state-level societies bordering the [[Yellow Sea]] during the 4th century&nbsp;BC, at the end of the [[Warring States period]], but before the beginning of the [[Western Han dynasty]].<ref name="kim">{{cite journal |last=Kim |first=Do-heon |year=2002 |title=Samhan Sigi Jujocheolbu-eui Yutong Yangsang-e Daehan Geomto |trans-title=A Study of the Distribution Patterns of Cast Iron Axes in the Samhan Period |journal=Yongnam Kogohak [Yongnam Archaeological Review] |issue=31|pages=1–29 |language=ko}}</ref><ref name="taylor">{{cite journal | last=Taylor | first=Sarah | title=The introduction and development of iron production in Korea: A survey | journal=World Archaeology | volume=20 | issue=3 | date=1989 | issn=0043-8243 | doi=10.1080/00438243.1989.9980082 | pages=422–433}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Yoon | first=D. S. | title=Early iron metallurgy in Korea | journal=Archaeological Review from Cambridge | volume=8 | issue=1 | date=1989 | issn=0261-4332 | pages=92–99}}</ref> Iron production quickly followed during the 2nd century&nbsp;BC, and iron implements came to be used by farmers by the 1st century in southern Korea.<ref name="kim" /> The earliest known cast-iron axes in southern Korea are found in the [[Geum River]] river basin. The time that iron production begins is the same time that complex chiefdoms of [[Samhan|Proto-historic Korea]] emerged. The complex chiefdoms were the precursors of early states such as [[Silla]], [[Baekje]], [[Goguryeo]], and [[Gaya confederacy|Gaya]]<ref name="taylor" /><ref>{{cite book | last=Barnes | first=Gina Lee | title=State Formation in Korea: Historical and Archaeological Perspectives | publisher=Psychology Press | publication-place=Richmond, Surrey | date=2001 | isbn=0-7007-1323-9 }}</ref> Iron ingots were an important mortuary item and indicated the wealth or prestige of the deceased during this period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=Sung-joo |year=1998 |title=Silla&nbsp;– Gaya Sahoe-eui Giwon-gwa Seongjang |trans-title=The Rise and Growth of Silla and Gaya Society |publisher=Hakyeon Munhwasa |location=Seoul |language=ko}}</ref>

====South Asia====
{{main|Iron Age in India}}
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Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age

The early evidence of [[iron smelting]] predates the emergence of the Iron Age proper by several centuries.<ref>{{cite journal|quote=the date of the beginning of iron smelting in India may well be placed as early as the sixteenth century BC ... by about the early decade of thirteenth century BCE iron smelting was definitely known in India on a bigger scale.  | last=Tewari | first=Rakesh | title=The origins of iron working in India: new evidence from the Central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas | journal=Antiquity | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=77 | issue=297 | year=2003 | issn=0003-598X | doi=10.1017/s0003598x00092590 | pages=536–544}}</ref>  Iron was being used in [[Mundigak]] to manufacture some  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]], [[Prayagraj|Allahabad]] in present-day [[Uttar Pradesh]] show iron implements in the period 1800–1200&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Tewari" /> As the evidence from the sites Raja Nala ka tila, Malhar suggest the use of Iron c.&nbsp;1800–1700&nbsp;BC. The extensive use of iron smelting is from [[Sonbhadra district|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 c.&nbsp;1500 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ranjan|first=Amit|title=The Northern Black Painted Ware Culture of Middle Ganga Plain: Recent Perspective|url= https://www.academia.edu/37049072|journal=Manaviki|date=January 2014}}</ref> Archaeological excavations in Hyderabad show an Iron Age burial site.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/iron-age-burial-site-discovered/article1335326.ece |work=The Hindu |title=Iron Age burial site discovered |date=2008-09-10 |author=K. Venkateshwarlu}}</ref>

However, reviewing the claims of early uses of iron during c. 1800–1000 BC, archaeologist [[Suraj Bhan (archaeologist)|Suraj Bhan]] noted, "the stratigraphical context and chronology of iron is not beyond doubt" at these sites (namely Malhar, Dadupur, and Lahuradeva) — although "there is no doubt" that iron was being used in the Ganges Plains "a few centuries before the rise of urbanization [...] around 600 BC".<ref>{{cite journal | last=Bhan | first=Suraj | title=North Indian Protohistory and Vedic Aryans | journal=Ancient Asia | year=2006 | volume=1 | pages=173–178 | doi=10.5334/aa.06115 | doi-access=free | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272715407}}</ref>

The beginning of the 1st millennium&nbsp;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 1st millennium&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Drakonoff">{{cite book | last=Diakonoff | first=I. M. | title=Early Antiquity | publisher=University of Chicago Press | publication-place=Chicago | date=1991-08-27 | isbn=0-226-14465-8 | page=372}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Drakonoff"/> The Indian [[Upanishad]]s mention metallurgy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Olivelle | first=Patrick |authorlink=Patrick Olivelle | title=Upaniṣads | publisher=Oxford University Press | publication-place=Oxford New York | date=1998 | isbn=0-19-283576-9 | page=xxix}}</ref> and the Indian [[Mauryan]] period saw advances in metallurgy.<ref>{{cite book |authorlink1=John F. Richards|first1=J. F. |last1=Richards|first2=Gordon |last2=Johnson |authorlink3=Christopher Bayly|first3=Christopher Alan |last3=Bayly |year=2005 |title=[[The New Cambridge History of India]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=64}}</ref> As early as 300&nbsp;BC, certainly by 200&nbsp;AD, high-quality steel was produced in southern India, by what would later be called the [[crucible steel|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.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Juleff | first=Gill | title=An ancient wind-powered iron smelting technology in Sri Lanka | journal=Nature | volume=379 | issue=6560 | date=1996 | issn=1476-4687 | doi=10.1038/379060a0 | pages=60–63 | bibcode=1996Natur.379...60J | url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v379/n6560/abs/379060a0.html | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The protohistoric Early Iron Age in Sri Lanka lasted from 1000&nbsp;BC to 600&nbsp;BC. Radiocarbon evidence has been collected from [[Anuradhapura]] and Aligala shelter in [[Sigiriya]].<ref>{{cite web|first = Lahiru|last = Weligamage|year = 2005|url = http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1002|title = The Ancient Sri Lanka|website = LankaLibrary Forum|access-date = 10 October 2018|archive-date = 10 January 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200110221944/http://www.lankalibrary.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1002|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref name=Deraniyagala>{{cite thesis| last=Deraniyagala | first=Siran Upendra | title=The prehistory of Sri Lanka: An ecological perspective |id={{ProQuest|<!-- Add ProQuest data here -->}} | url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/f58bbe60f92ff62f46f6792d629d2d51/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Karunaratne |last2=Adikari |year=1994 |chapter=Excavations at Aligala prehistoric site |editor-last1=Bandaranayake |editor-last2=Mogren |title=Further studies in the settlement archaeology of the Sigiriya-Dambulla region |location=Sri Lanka |publisher=University of Kelaniya: Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology |page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mogren |year=1994 |chapter=Objectives, methods, constraints, and perspectives|editor-last1=Bandaranayake |editor-last2=Mogren |title=Further studies in the settlement archaeology of the Sigiriya-Dambulla region |location=Sri Lanka |publisher=University of Kelaniya: Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology |page=39}}</ref> The Anuradhapura settlement is recorded to extend {{cvt|10|ha}} by 800&nbsp;BC and grew to {{cvt|50|ha}} by 700–600&nbsp;BC to become a town.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Allchin | first=F. R. | title=City and State Formation in Early Historic South Asia | journal=South Asian Studies | volume=5 | issue=1 | date=1989 | issn=0266-6030 | doi=10.1080/02666030.1989.9628379 | pages=1–16}}</ref> 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 (insignia)|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.<ref>{{cite book | last=Intirapālā | first=Kārttikēcu | title=The evolution of an ethnic identity: the Tamils in Sri Lanka c. 300 BCE to c. 1200 CE
 | publisher=South Asian Studies Centre Sydney | publication-place=Colombo | date=2005 | isbn=0-646-42546-3 | page=324}}</ref> It is also speculated that Early Iron Age sites may exist in [[Kandarodai]], Matota, [[Pilapitiya]] and [[Tissamaharama]].<ref name=Deraniyagala/>

The earliest undisputed deciphered [[epigraphy]] found within the Indian subcontinent are the [[Edicts of Ashoka]] of the 3rd century&nbsp;BC, in the [[Brahmi script]]. Several inscriptions were thought to be pre-Ashokan by earlier scholars; these include the [[Piprahwa]] relic casket inscription, the [[Barli inscription|Badli pillar inscription]], the [[Bhattiprolu]] relic casket inscription, the [[Sohgaura copper plate inscription]], the [[Mahasthangarh]] Brahmi inscription, the [[Eran]] coin legend, the [[Taxila]] coin legends, and the inscription on the silver coins of [[Sophytes]]. However, more recent scholars have dated them to later periods.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dilip K. |last=Chakrabarty |title=India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wPQtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT356 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-908814-0 |pages=355–356}}</ref>

====Southeast Asia====
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 bar:Vietnam color:era
 from: -771 till: -221 shift:(0,5) text:[[Sa Huỳnh culture]]
 from: -221 till: 500 shift:(0,4) text:[[Óc Eo culture]]
 bar:Vietnam color:filler
 from: -221 till: 500 shift:(0,-7) text:[[Imperial Vietnam]]

 bar: Philippines color:era
 from: -771 till: -221 shift:(0,5) text:[[Sa Huỳnh culture|Sa Huyun culture]]
 from: -500 till: -108 text:[[Igorot society|Ifugao society]]
 bar:Philippines color:filler
 from: -108 till: -18 shift:(0,5) text:[[History of the Philippines|Ancient Barangay's]]
 from: -18 till: 500 text:[[History of the Philippines (900-1521)|Archaic epoch]]

 bar: Indonesia color:era
 from: -500 till: -108 text:[[Prehistory of Indonesia]]
 bar:Indonesia color:filler
 from: -108 till: -18 shift:(0,4) text:[[Buni culture]]
 from: -18 till: 500 text:[[Tarumanagara|Early Kingdoms]]
</timeline>
Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age
[[File:Lingling-o.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|Lingling-o earrings from [[Luzon]], Philippines]]
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 between the 4th and 2nd centuries&nbsp;BC during the late Iron Age.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Glover|first1=I. C.|last2=Bellina|first2=B. |volume=2|issue=17|pages=17–45|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ni9AlOLTFZYC&pg=PA19|isbn=978-981-4345-10-1|year=2011|doi=10.1355/9789814311175-005|chapter=Ban Don Ta Phet and Khao Sam Kaeo: The Earliest Indian Contacts Re-assessed|title=Early Interactions between South and Southeast Asia}}</ref>

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 been found in archaeological sites in Central Thailand, as well as the [[Orchid Island]].<ref>Higham, C. (2014). ''Early Mainland Southeast Asia''. Bangkok: River Books. {{ISBN|978-616-7339-44-3}}</ref>{{rp|211–217}}

===Africa===
{{main|Iron metallurgy in Africa}}
{{See also|Nok culture|Urewe|Bantu expansion}}
[[File:African bloomery furnace types.png|thumb|Examples of African bloomery furnace types]]
Early evidence for iron technology in Sub-Saharan Africa can be found at sites such as [[KM2 and KM3 sites|KM2 and KM3]] in northwest [[Tanzania]] and parts of Nigeria and the Central African Republic. [[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]].

[[Archaeometallurgy]] originated in numerous centers of Africa; the centers of origin were located in [[West Africa]], [[Central Africa]], and [[East Africa]]; consequently, as these origin centers are located within inner Africa, these archaeometallurgical developments are thus native African technologies.<ref name="Bandama">{{cite journal |last1=Bandama |first1=Foreman |last2=Babalola |first2=Abidemi Babatunde |title=Science, Not Black Magic: Metal and Glass Production in Africa |journal=African Archaeological Review |date=13 September 2023 |volume=40 |issue=3 |pages=531–543 |doi=10.1007/s10437-023-09545-6 |issn=0263-0338 |oclc=10004759980 |s2cid=261858183|doi-access=free }}</ref> Iron metallurgical development occurred 2631–2458 BC at Lejja, in Nigeria, 2136–1921 BC at Obui, in Central Africa Republic, 1895–1370 BC at Tchire Ouma 147, in Niger, and 1297–1051 BC at Dekpassanware, in Togo.<ref name="Bandama" />

Very early copper and bronze working sites in [[Niger]] may date as early as 1500&nbsp;BC. There is also evidence of iron metallurgy in Termit, Niger from around this period.<ref name="millermintz" /><ref>{{cite report |url=http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=3432&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html |trans-title=Iron in Africa: Revising the History |publisher=UNESCO |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704083407/http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID%3D3432%26URL_DO%3DDO_PRINTPAGE%26URL_SECTION%3D201.html |archive-date=4 July 2017 |title=Aux origines de la métallurgie du fer en Afrique, Une ancienneté méconnue: Afrique de l'Ouest et Afrique centrale}}</ref> [[Nubia]] was a major manufacturer and exporter of iron after the expulsion of the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Nubian dynasty]] from Egypt by the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]] in the 7th century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Collins | first1=Robert O. | last2=Burns | first2=James M. | title=A History of Sub-Saharan Africa | publisher=Cambridge University Press | publication-place=Cambridge | date=2007-02-08 | isbn=978-0-521-68708-9 | page=37}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59" /><ref name="Holl-2009" />

Archaeological sites containing iron smelting furnaces and slag have also been excavated at sites in the [[Nsukka]] region of southeast [[Nigeria]] in what is now [[Igbo people|Igboland]]: dating to 2000&nbsp;BC at the site of [[Lejja]] (Eze-Uzomaka 2009)<ref name=Eze-Uzomaka /><ref name=Holl-2009/> and to 750&nbsp;BC and at the site of [[Opi (archaeological site)|Opi]] (Holl 2009).<ref name=Holl-2009/> The site of Gbabiri (in the Central African Republic) has yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop{{snd}}with earliest dates of 896–773&nbsp;BC and 907–796&nbsp;BC, respectively.<ref name="Eggert 2014 53–54">{{Cite book|title=Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context|last= Eggert|first=Manfred|publisher=Africa Magna Verlag Press|year=2014|isbn= 978-393724846-2|editor-last=Breunig|editor-first=P.|location= Frankfurt|pages=53–54|chapter=Early iron in West and Central Africa|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BBn1BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA38}}</ref> Similarly, smelting in bloomery-type furnaces appear in the [[Nok culture]] of central Nigeria by about 550 BC and possibly a few centuries earlier.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Miller | first1=Duncan E. | last2=Van Der Merwe | first2=Nikolaas J. | title=Early Metal Working in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Recent Research | journal=The Journal of African History | publisher=Cambridge University Press | volume=35 | issue=1 | year=1994 | issn=0021-8537 | doi=10.1017/s0021853700025949 | pages=1–36}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Stuiver | first1=Minze | last2=van der Merwe | first2=Nicolaas J. | title=Radiocarbon Chronology of the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa | journal=Current Anthropology | volume=9 | issue=1 | date=1968 | issn=0011-3204 | doi=10.1086/200878 | pages=54–58}} {{harvnb|Tylecote| 1975}} (see below)</ref><ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59"/><ref name="Eggert 2014 53–54"/>

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&nbsp;BC, reaching the [[Cape of Good Hope|Cape]] around 400&nbsp;AD.<ref name="millermintz" />
However, iron working may have been practiced in central Africa as early as the 3rd millennium&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite journal|first =Heather |last = Pringle|title= Seeking Africa's first Iron Men|journal= Science |volume = 323|pages=200–202|date = 9 January 2009|issue = 5911 |doi = 10.1126/science.323.5911.200 |pmid = 19131604|s2cid = 206583802}}</ref> Instances of [[carbon steel]] based on complex preheating principles were found to be in production around the 1st century&nbsp;AD in northwest [[Tanzania]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Schmidt | first1=Peter | last2=Avery | first2=Donald H. | title=Complex Iron Smelting and Prehistoric Culture in Tanzania: Recent discoveries show complex technological achievement in African iron production. | journal=Science | volume=201 | issue=4361 | date=1978-09-22 | issn=0036-8075 | doi=10.1126/science.201.4361.1085 | pages=1085–1089| pmid=17830304 }}</ref>

[[File:Typical bloomery iron production operational sequence.webp|thumb|Typical bloomery iron production operational sequence starting with acquiring raw materials through smelting and smithing]]

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 from: -1070 till: -700 text:[[Third Intermediate Period]]
 from: -700 till: 1 text:[[Kingdom of Kush]]
 bar:N.Africa color:Filler
 from: 1 till: 500 text:[[Aksumite Empire]]
 bar:Africa color:era
 from: -1000 till: 500 shift:(-50,5) text:[[African Iron Age]]
 from: -2631 till: -500 shift:(-50,5) text:[[Sub-Saharan Africa]]
 from: -1000 till: -500 text:[[Nok culture|Nok]]
 from: -1000 till: 500 text:[[Bantu expansion]]
</timeline>
Dates are approximate
* {{color box|#f2d97f}}{{color box|#ffd880}} Prehistoric (or proto-historic) Iron Age {{color box|#cccccc}} Historic Iron Age

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Blast furnace]]
* [[Fogou]]
* [[Jublains archeological site]], example in northwest France
* [[List of Iron Age states]]
* [[List of archaeological periods]]
* [[List of archaeological sites by country]]
* [[Metallurgy in pre-Columbian America]]
* [[Roman metallurgy]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="Eggert 2014 51–59">{{cite book|title=Nok: African Sculpture in Archaeological Context|last=Eggert|first=Manfred|publisher=Africa Magna|year=2014|editor-last=Breunig|editor-first=P|location=Frankfurt, Germany|pages=51–59|chapter=Early iron in West and Central Africa}}</ref>

<ref name="Holl-2009">{{cite journal|last1=Holl|first1=Augustin F. C.|title=Early West African Metallurgies: New Data and Old Orthodoxy|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|date=6 November 2009|volume=22|issue=4|pages=415–438|doi=10.1007/s10963-009-9030-6|s2cid=161611760}}</ref>

<ref name="millermintz">{{cite journal | last1=Miller | first1=Duncan E. | last2=Van Der Merwe | first2=Nikolaas J. | title=Early Metal Working in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of Recent Research | journal=The Journal of African History | publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) | volume=35 | issue=1 | year=1994 | issn=0021-8537 | doi=10.1017/s0021853700025949 | pages=1–36}}; {{cite journal | last1=Stuiver | first1=Minze | last2=van der Merwe | first2=Nicolaas J. | title=Radiocarbon Chronology of the Iron Age in Sub-Saharan Africa | journal=Current Anthropology | volume=9 | issue=1 | date=1968 | issn=0011-3204 | doi=10.1086/200878 | pages=54–58}}</ref>

<ref name="Tewari">{{cite journal|last=Tewari|first=Rakesh|title=The origins of Iron Working in India: New evidence from the Central Ganga Plain and the Eastern Vindhyas|journal=Antiquity|volume=77|issue=297|pages=536–545|year=2003|url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/tewari/tewari.pdf|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00092590|citeseerx=10.1.1.403.4300|s2cid=14951163|archive-date=5 December 2021|access-date=28 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205201659/http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/tewari/tewari.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Iron Age |viaf= |lcheading= |wikititle=}}
* {{cite journal | last1=Bakker | first1=Jan David | last2=Maurer | first2=Stephan | last3=Pischke | first3=Jörn-Steffen |authorlink3=Jörn-Steffen Pischke | last4=Rauch | first4=Ferdinand | title=Of Mice and Merchants: Connectedness and the Location of Economic Activity in the Iron Age | journal=The Review of Economics and Statistics | publisher=MIT Press - Journals | date=2021-08-16 | issn=0034-6535 | doi=10.1162/rest_a_00902 | pages=1–14}}
* {{cite book | last=Chang | first=Claudia | title=Rethinking Prehistoric Central Asia: Shepherds, Farmers, and Nomads | publisher=Routledge | date=2017-08-16 | isbn=978-1-315-17369-6 | doi=10.4324/9781315173696}}
* {{cite book |last=Collis |first=John |title=The European Iron Age |location=London |publisher=B.T. Batsford |year=1984 | isbn=978-0-7134-3452-1}}
* {{cite book | last=Cunliffe | first=B.W. | title=Iron Age Britain |edition=Rev. | publisher=B.T. Batsford | series=English Heritage | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-00-704186-2 }}
* {{cite book | last1=Davis-Kimball | first1=J. |authorlink1=Jeannine Davis-Kimball| last2=Bashilov | first2=V.A. | last3=Tiablonskiĭ | first3=L.T. | title=Nomads of the Eurasian Steppes in the Early Iron Age | publisher=Zinat Press | year=1995 | isbn=978-1-885979-00-1 }}
* {{cite journal | last1=Finkelstein | first1=Israel | last2=Piasetzky | first2=Eli | title=The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing? | journal=Near Eastern Archaeology | volume=74 | issue=1 | date=2011 | issn=1094-2076 | doi=10.5615/neareastarch.74.1.0050 | pages=50–54}}
* {{cite book | last=Jacobson | first=E. | title=Burial Ritual, Gender, and Status in South Siberia in the Late Bronze-early Iron Age | publisher=Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies | series=Papers on inner Asia | year=1987 }}
* {{cite journal | last=Mazar | first=Amihai | title=Iron Age Chronology: A Reply to I. Finkelstein | journal=Levant | volume=29 | issue=1 | date=1997 | issn=0075-8914 | doi=10.1179/lev.1997.29.1.157 | pages=157–167}}
* {{cite journal | last=Mazar | first=Amihai | title=The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing? Another Viewpoint | journal=Near Eastern Archaeology | volume=74 | issue=2 | date=2011 | issn=1094-2076 | doi=10.5615/neareastarch.74.2.0105 | pages=105–111}}
* {{cite book | last=Medvedskaya | first=I.N. | title=Iran: Iron Age I | publisher=B.A.R. | series=BAR international series | year=1982 | isbn=978-0-86054-156-1 }}
* {{cite book | last=Shinnie | first=P.L. | title=The African Iron Age | publisher=Clarendon Press | year=1971 | isbn=978-0-19-813158-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Tripathi | first=V. | title=The Age of Iron in South Asia: Legacy and Tradition | publisher=Aryan Books International | year=2001 }}
* {{cite book | last=Tylecote | first=R.F. | location=Great Britain | title=A History of Metallurgy | publisher=Institute of Materials  | year=1975 }}
* {{cite book | last=Waldbaum | first=J.C. | title=From Bronze to Iron: The Transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in the Eastern Mediterranean | publisher=P. Aström | volume= 54-55 | year=1978 | isbn=978-91-85058-79-2 }}

==External links==
; General
* [http://resourcesforhistory.com A site with a focus on Iron Age Britain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218105026/http://resourcesforhistory.com/ |date=18 February 2007}} from resourcesforhistory.com
* [http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive Human Timeline (Interactive)]—[[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], [[National Museum of Natural History]] (August 2016).

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

; News
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13082240 "Mass burial suggests massacre at Iron Age hill fort"]. Archaeologists have found evidence of a massacre linked to Iron Age warfare at a [[Fin Cop|hill fort]] in Derbyshire. BBC. 17 April 2011

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[[Category:Iron Age| ]]
[[Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines]]
[[Category:2nd-millennium BC establishments]]
[[Category:Historical eras]]