The abundance of secrets is hidden in world history, and until now, researchers do not give up hope to discover something new in the known facts. The moments seem exciting and unusual when you realize that once upon a time dinosaurs lived on the same lands that we now walk on, knights fought, set up camps for the production of tools and manufacturing technology. In accordance with these principles, the concepts of "Stone Age", "Bronze Age", "Iron Age" appeared. Each of these periodizations has become a step in the development of mankind, the next round of evolution and knowledge of human capabilities. Naturally, there were no absolutely passive moments in history. From time immemorial to the present day, there has been a regular replenishment of knowledge and the development of new ways to obtain useful materials.

World history and the first methods of dating time periods

The natural sciences have become a tool for dating time spans. In particular, one can cite the radiocarbon method, geological dating, and dendrochronology. The rapid development of ancient man made it possible to improve existing technologies. Approximately 5 thousand years ago, when the written period began, other prerequisites for dating arose, which were based on the time of existence of various states and civilizations. It is tentatively believed that the period of separation of man from the animal world began about two million years ago, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire, which happened in 476 AD, there was a period of Antiquity. Before the Renaissance, there were the Middle Ages. Until the end of the First World War, the period of New History lasted, and now the time of the Newest has come. Historians of different times put their "anchors" of reference, for example, Herodotus paid special attention to the struggle of Asia with Europe. Scientists of a later period considered the establishment of the Roman Republic as the main event in the development of civilization. Many historians agree in their assumption that for the Iron Age, culture and art were not of great importance, since the tools of war and labor came to the fore.

Metal era background

In primitive history, the Stone Age is distinguished, including the Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. Each of the periods is marked by the development of man and his innovations in stone processing. At first, the hand ax was the most widely used among the tools. Later, tools appeared from the elements of the stone, and not the whole nodule. During this period, the development of fire, the creation of the first clothes from skins, the first religious cults and housing arrangements took place. During the period of a semi-nomadic lifestyle of a person and hunting for large animals, more advanced weapons were required. A further round of development of stone processing technologies occurred at the turn of the millennium and the end of the Stone Age, when agriculture and cattle breeding spread, and ceramic production appeared. In the era of metal, copper and its processing technologies were mastered. The beginning of the Iron Age laid the foundation for work for the future. The study of the properties of metals consistently led to the discovery of bronze and its spread. The Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages are a single harmonious process of human development based on mass movements of peoples.

Era Length Evidence

The distribution of iron belongs to the primitive and early class history of mankind. Trends in metallurgy and the production of tools become characteristic features of the period. Even in the ancient world, an idea was formed about the classification of centuries according to the material. The early Iron Age was studied and continues to be studied by scientists in various fields. In Western Europe, voluminous works were published
Görnes, Montelius, Tischler, Reinecke, Kostshevsky, etc. In Eastern Europe, Gorodtsov, Spitsyn, Gauthier, Tretyakov, Smirnov, Artamonov, Grakov published the corresponding textbooks, monographs, and maps. Often consider the spread of iron as a characteristic feature of tribes that lived outside civilizations. In fact, all countries at one time survived the Iron Age. The Bronze Age was only a prerequisite for this. It has not occupied such a vast amount of time in history. Chronologically, the Iron Age spans from the 9th to the 7th century BC. At this time, many tribes of Europe and Asia received an impetus to the development of their own iron metallurgy. Since this metal remains the most important material of production, modernity is also part of this century.

period culture

The development of the production and distribution of iron quite logically led to the modernization of culture and all social life. There were economic prerequisites for working relationships and the collapse of the tribal way of life. Ancient history marks the accumulation of values, the growth of property inequality and the mutually beneficial exchange of parties. Fortifications spread widely, the formation of a class society and state began. More funds became the private property of a select minority, slavery arose and the stratification of society progressed.

How did the age of metal manifest itself in the USSR?

At the end of the second millennium BC, iron appeared on the territory of the Union. Among the most ancient places of development, one can note Western Georgia and Transcaucasia. Monuments of the early Iron Age have been preserved in the southern European part of the USSR. But metallurgy gained mass fame here in the first millennium BC, which is confirmed by a number of archaeological artifacts made of bronze in Transcaucasia, cultural relics of the North Caucasus and the Black Sea region, etc. During excavations of Scythian settlements, priceless monuments of the early Iron Age were discovered. The finds were made at the Kamenskoye settlement near Nikopol.

History of materials in Kazakhstan

Historically, the Iron Age is divided into two periods. This is the early, which lasted from the 8th to the 3rd century BC, and the late, which lasted from the 3rd century BC to the 6th century AD. Each country has a period of iron distribution in its history, but the features of this process are highly dependent on the region. Thus, the Iron Age on the territory of Kazakhstan was marked by events in three main regions. Cattle breeding and irrigated agriculture are widespread in South Kazakhstan. Climatic conditions did not imply farming. And Northern, Eastern and Central Kazakhstan was inhabited by people adapted to the harsh winter. These three regions, radically different in living conditions, became the basis for the creation of three Kazakh zhuzes. Southern Kazakhstan became the place of formation of the Senior Zhuz. The lands of Northern, Eastern and Central Kazakhstan have become a haven. Western Kazakhstan is represented by the Younger Zhuz.

Iron Age in Central Kazakhstan

The boundless steppes of Central Asia have long been the place of residence of nomads. Here, the ancient history is represented by burial mounds, which are priceless monuments of the Iron Age. Especially often in the region there were mounds with paintings or "whiskers", which, according to scientists, perform the functions of a lighthouse and a compass in the steppe. The attention of historians is attracted by the Tasmolin culture, named after the area in the Pavlodar region, where the first excavations of a man and a horse were recorded in a large and small mound. Archaeologists of Kazakhstan consider the burial mounds of the Tasmolin culture to be the most common monuments of the Early Iron Age.

Features of the culture of Northern Kazakhstan

This region is distinguished by the presence of cattle. The locals moved from farming to sedentary and the Tasmolin culture is revered in this region as well. Birlik, Alypkash, Bekteniz mounds and three settlements: Karlyga, Borki and Kenotkel attract the attention of researchers of early Iron Age monuments. On the right bank of the Esil River, a fortification of the early Iron Age has been preserved. The art of melting and processing of non-ferrous metals was developed here. Produced metal products were transported to Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Kazakhstan was several centuries ahead of its neighbors in the development of ancient metallurgy and therefore became a communicator between the metallurgical centers of its country, Siberia and Eastern Europe.

"Guarding the Gold"

The majestic mounds of East Kazakhstan mainly accumulated in the Shilikty valley. There are more than fifty of them here. In 1960, a study was made of the largest of the barrows, which is called the Golden. This peculiar monument to the Iron Age was erected in the 8th-9th century BC. The Zaisan region of East Kazakhstan allows you to explore more than two hundred largest mounds, of which 50 are called Tsar's and may contain gold. In the Shilikty valley there is the oldest royal burial in Kazakhstan, dating back to the 8th century BC, which was discovered by Professor Toleubaev. Among archaeologists, this discovery made a noise, just like the third "golden man" of Kazakhstan. The buried person was wearing clothes decorated with 4325 golden figurative plates. The most interesting find is a pentagonal star with lapis lazuli rays. Such an object symbolizes power and greatness. This became another proof that Shilikty, Besshatyr, Issyk, Berel, Boraldai are sacred places for performing ritual rites, sacrifices and prayers.

Early Iron Age in the culture of nomads

Not much documentary evidence of the ancient culture of Kazakhstan has been preserved. Mostly information is obtained from and excavations. Much has been said about the nomads regarding song and dance art. Separately, it is worth noting the skill in the manufacture of ceramic vessels and painting on silver bowls. The spread of iron in everyday life and production was the impetus for the improvement of a unique heating system: a chimney, which was laid horizontally along the wall, evenly warmed the whole house. Nomads invented many things that are familiar today, both for domestic use and for use in wartime. They came up with trousers, stirrups, a yurt and a curved saber. Metal armor was developed to protect horses. The protection of the warrior himself was provided by iron armor.

Achievements and discoveries of the period

The Iron Age was third in line behind the Stone and Bronze Ages. But by value, no doubt, it is considered the first. Until modern times, iron has remained the material basis of all inventions of mankind. All important discoveries in the field of production are connected with its application. This metal has a higher melting point than copper. In its pure form, natural iron does not exist, and it is very difficult to carry out the process of smelting from ore because of its infusibility. This metal caused global changes in the life of the steppe tribes. Compared with previous archaeological epochs, the Iron Age is the shortest, but the most productive. Initially, mankind recognized meteoric iron. Some original products and decorations from it were found in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Chronologically, these relics can be attributed to the first half of the third millennium BC. In the second millennium BC, a technology for producing iron from ore was developed, but for quite a long time this metal was considered rare and expensive.

Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia and India began to engage in a wide production of weapons and tools from iron. The spread of this metal, as well as steel, provoked a technical revolution that expands the power of man over nature. Now the clearing of large forest areas for crops has been simplified. Modernization of labor tools and improvement of land cultivation were carried out promptly. Accordingly, new crafts were quickly learned, especially blacksmithing and weapons. Shoemakers, who received more advanced tools, did not stand aside. Stonemasons and miners began to work more efficiently.

Summarizing the results of the Iron Age, it can be noted that by the beginning of our era, all the main varieties of hand tools were already in use (with the exception of screws and hinged scissors). Thanks to the use of iron in production, the construction of roads became much simpler, military equipment advanced a step forward, and a metal coin entered circulation. The Iron Age accelerated and provoked the collapse of the primitive communal system, as well as the formation of a class society and statehood. Many communities during this period adhered to the so-called

Possible ways of development

It is worth noting that it existed in small quantities even in Egypt, but the spread of the metal became possible with the start of ore smelting. Initially, iron was smelted only when such a need arose. So, fragments of metal inclusions were found in the monuments of Syria and Iraq, which were erected no later than 2700 BC. But after the 11th century BC, the blacksmiths of Eastern Anatolia learned the science of systematically making objects from iron. The secrets and subtleties of the new science were kept secret and passed down from generation to generation. The first historical finds confirming the widespread use of metal for the manufacture of tools were recorded in Israel, namely in Gerar near Gaza. A huge number of hoes, sickles and coulters made of iron dating back to the period after 1200 BC have been found here. Smelting furnaces were also found at the excavation sites.

Special metal processing technologies belong to the masters of Western Asia, from whom they were borrowed by the masters of Greece, Italy and the rest of Europe. The British technological revolution can be attributed to the period after 700 BC, and there it began and developed very smoothly. Egypt and North Africa showed interest in mastering the metal around the same time, with further transfer of skill to the south side. Chinese craftsmen almost completely abandoned bronze, preferring turned iron. European colonists brought their knowledge of metalworking technology to Australia and the New World. After the invention of blower bellows, iron casting became widespread on a massive scale. Cast iron became an indispensable material for creating all kinds of household utensils and military equipment, which was a productive impetus for the development of metallurgy.

archaeological era from which the use of objects made from iron ore begins. The earliest iron-making furnaces dating back to the 1st floor. II millennium BC found in western Georgia. In Eastern Europe and the Eurasian steppe and forest-steppe, the beginning of the era coincides with the time of the formation of early nomadic formations of the Scythian and Saka types (approximately VIII-VII centuries BC). In Africa, it began immediately after the Stone Age (there is no Bronze Age). In America, the beginning of the Iron Age is associated with European colonization. In Asia and Europe it began, almost simultaneously. Often, only the first stage of the Iron Age is called the early Iron Age, the boundary of which is the final stages of the era of the Great Migration of Peoples (IV-VI centuries AD). In general, the Iron Age includes the entire Middle Ages, and based on the definition, this era continues to this day.

The discovery of iron and the invention of the metallurgical process were very complex. While copper and tin are found in nature in pure form, iron is found only in chemical compounds, mainly with oxygen, as well as with other elements. No matter how long you keep iron ore in the fire, it will not melt, and this way of "accidental" discovery, possible for copper, tin and some other metals, is excluded for iron. Brown loose stone, which is iron ore, was not suitable for making tools by upholstering. Finally, even reduced iron melts at a very high temperature - more than 1500 degrees. All this is an almost insurmountable obstacle to a more or less satisfactory hypothesis of the history of the discovery of iron.

There is no doubt that the discovery of iron was prepared by several thousand years of development of copper metallurgy. Especially important was the invention of bellows for blowing air into melting furnaces. Such furs were used in non-ferrous metallurgy, increasing the flow of oxygen into the hearth, which not only raised the temperature in it, but also created conditions for a successful metal reduction chemical reaction. A metallurgical furnace, even a primitive one, is a kind of chemical retort in which not so much physical as chemical processes take place. Such a furnace was made of stone and covered with clay (or it was made from clay alone) on a massive clay or stone base. The wall thickness of the furnace reached 20 cm. The height of the furnace shaft was about 1 m. Its diameter was the same. There was a hole in the front wall of the furnace at the bottom level, through which the coal loaded into the mine was set on fire, and through it the cracker was taken out. Archaeologists use the old Russian name for a furnace for "cooking" iron - "domnitsa". The process itself is called cheese-making. This term emphasizes the importance of blowing air into a blast furnace filled with iron ore and coal.

At cheese process more than half of the iron was lost in the slag, which at the end of the Middle Ages led to the abandonment of this method. However, for almost three thousand years this method was the only way to obtain iron.

Unlike bronze objects, iron objects could not be made by casting, they were forged. By the time iron metallurgy was discovered, the forging process had a thousand-year history. Forged on a metal stand - an anvil. A piece of iron was first heated in a forge, and then the blacksmith, holding it with tongs on an anvil, hit the place with a small hammer-handbrake, where his assistant would then strike, hitting the iron with a heavy hammer-sledgehammer.

Iron was first mentioned in the correspondence of the Egyptian pharaoh with the Hittite king, preserved in the archives of the 14th century. BC e. in Amarna (Egypt). From this time, small iron products have come down to us in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Aegean world.

For some time, iron was a very expensive material used to make jewelry and ceremonial weapons. In particular, a gold bracelet with iron inlay and a whole series of iron items were found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Iron inlays are also known elsewhere.

On the territory of the USSR, iron first appeared in Transcaucasia.

Iron things began to quickly replace bronze ones, since iron, unlike copper and tin, is found almost everywhere. Iron ores occur both in mountainous regions and in swamps, not only deep underground, but also on its surface. At present, swamp ore is not of industrial interest, but in ancient times it was of great importance. Thus, the countries that occupied a monopoly position in the production of bronze lost their monopoly on the production of metal. Countries poor in copper ores, with the discovery of iron, quickly caught up with countries that were advanced in the Bronze Age.

Major events and inventions:

  • o development of methods for obtaining iron;
  • o the development of blacksmithing, a revolution in the technology of the Iron Age: blacksmithing and construction, transport;
  • o iron tools in agriculture, iron weapons;
  • o the formation of cultural and historical unity in the steppe and mountain-valley Eurasia;
  • o the formation of large cultural and historical formations in Eurasia.

Patterns and features of archeology of the early Iron Age

The early Iron Age in archeology is the period following the Bronze Age in the history of mankind, marked by the development of methods for obtaining iron and the wide distribution of iron products.

The transition from bronze to iron took several centuries and proceeded far from evenly. Some peoples, for example, in India, in the Caucasus, learned iron in the 10th century. BC, in Greece - in the XII century. BC, in Western Asia - at the turn of the 3rd -2nd millennium BC. The peoples who lived on the territory of Russia mastered the new metal in the 7th-6th centuries. BC, and some later - only in the III-II centuries. BC.

The chronology of the early Iron Age accepted in science is the 7th century BC. - V c. AD These dates are highly arbitrary. The first is associated with classical Greece, the second with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages. In Eastern Europe and North Asia, the Early Iron Age is represented by two archaeological periods: Scythian (7th-3rd centuries BC) and Hunno-Sarmatian (2nd century BC - 5th century AD).

The name "Early Iron Age" given to this archaeological epoch in the history of Eurasia and all mankind is not accidental. The fact is that from the 1st millennium BC, i.e. Since the beginning of the Iron Age, mankind, despite a number of subsequent inventions and the development of new materials, plastic substitutes, light metals, alloys, still continues to live in the Iron Age. Without iron, modern civilization could not exist, so it is an iron age civilization. The Early Iron Age is a historical and archaeological concept. This is a period of history, largely reconstructed with the help of archeology, when a person mastered iron and its iron-carbon alloys (steel and cast iron), revealed their technological and physical properties.

Mastering the method of obtaining iron was the greatest achievement of mankind, a kind of revolution that caused a rapid growth of productive forces, which led to fundamental changes in the material and spiritual culture of mankind. The first iron objects were apparently forged from meteoric iron with a high nickel content. Almost simultaneously, iron products of earthly origin appear. At present, researchers are inclined to believe that the method of obtaining iron from ores was discovered in Asia Minor by the Hittites. Based on the data of structural analysis of iron blades from Aladzha-Hyuk, dated 2100 BC, it was established that the items were made of raw iron. The appearance of iron and the beginning of the Iron Age as an epoch in the history of mankind do not coincide in time. The fact is that the technology for producing iron is more complex than the method for producing bronze. The transition from bronze to iron would have been impossible without certain prerequisites that appeared at the end of the Bronze Age - the creation of special furnaces with artificial air supply using bellows, mastering the skills of metal forging, its plastic processing.

The reason for the widespread transition to the smelting of iron was, apparently, the fact that iron is found in nature almost everywhere, in the form of natural mineral formations (iron ores). This iron in a state of rust was mainly used in antiquity.

The technology for producing iron was complex and time-consuming. It consisted of a series of successive operations aimed at the reduction of iron from oxide at high temperatures. The main component in iron metallurgy was the reduction process in a raw-hearth furnace made of stones and clay. Blower nozzles were inserted into the lower part of the hearth, with the help of which the air necessary for burning coal entered the furnace. A sufficiently high temperature and a reducing atmosphere were created inside the furnace as a result of the formation of carbon monoxide. Under the influence of these conditions, the mass loaded into the furnace, which consisted mainly of iron oxides, waste rock and burning coal, underwent chemical transformations. One part of the oxides combined with the rock and formed a fusible slag, the other part was reduced to iron. The recovered metal in the form of individual grains was welded into a porous mass - kritsu. In fact, it was a reducing chemical process that took place under the influence of temperature and carbon monoxide (CO). His goal was to reduce iron in a chemical reaction. The result was flashy iron. Liquid iron was not obtained in ancient times.

The cry itself was not yet a product. In the hot state, it was subjected to compaction, the so-called pressing, i.e. forged. The metal became homogeneous, dense. Forged chimes were the starting material for the manufacture of various items in the future. It was impossible to cast iron products in the same way as it was previously done from bronze. The resulting piece of iron was cut into pieces, heated (already on an open forge) and with the help of a hammer and anvil, the necessary objects were forged. This was the fundamental difference between iron production and bronze foundry metallurgy. It is clear that with this technology, the figure of a blacksmith comes to the fore, his ability to forge a product of the desired shape and quality by heating, forging, cooling. The ancient process of iron smelting is widely known as cheese-making. It got its name later, in the 19th century, when not raw, but hot air was blown into blast furnaces, and with its help they reached a higher temperature and obtained a liquid mass of iron. In recent times, oxygen has been used for this purpose.

The manufacture of tools from iron expanded the productive possibilities of people. The beginning of the Iron Age is associated with a revolution in material production. More advanced tools appeared - iron arrowheads, plowshares, large sickles, scythes, iron axes. They made it possible to develop agriculture on a large scale, including in the forest zone. With the development of blacksmithing, a whole range of blacksmithing tools and devices appeared: anvils, various pincers, hammers, punches. The processing of wood, bone, and leather was developed. In the construction business, progress was provided by iron tools (saws, chisels, drills, planers), iron staples, and forged iron nails. The development of transport received a new impetus. Iron rims and bushings appeared on wheels, as well as the possibility of building large ships. Finally, the use of iron made it possible to improve offensive weapons - iron daggers, arrowheads and darts, long swords of chopping action. The protective equipment of the warrior has become more perfect. The Iron Age had an impact on the entire subsequent history of mankind.

In the early Iron Age, most tribes and peoples developed a productive economy based on agriculture and cattle breeding. In a number of places, population growth is noted, economic ties are being established, and the role of exchange is increasing, including over long distances, which is confirmed by archaeological materials. A significant part of the ancient peoples at the beginning of the Iron Age was at the stage of a primitive communal system, some of them were in the process of class formation. In a number of territories (Transcaucasia, Central Asia, steppe Eurasia), early states arose.

Studying archeology in the context of world history, it must be taken into account that the early Iron Age of Eurasia coincided with the heyday of the civilization of Ancient Greece, the formation and expansion of the Persian state in the East, with the era of the Greco-Persian wars, the aggressive campaigns of the Greco-Macedonian army to the East and the era of the Hellenistic states Front and Central Asia.

In the western part of the Mediterranean, the early Iron Age is marked as the time of the formation of the Etruscan culture on the Apennine Peninsula and the rise of the Roman power, the time of the struggle between Rome and Carthage and the expansion of the territory of the Roman Empire to the north and east - to Gaul, Britain, Spain, Thrace and Denmark.

Early Iron Age outside the Greco-Macedonian and Roman world from the middle of the 1st millennium BC represented in Europe by monuments of the La Tène culture of the 5th-1st centuries. BC. It is known as the "Second Iron Age" and followed the Hallstatt culture. Bronze tools are no longer found in the La Tène culture. Monuments of this culture are usually associated with the Celts. They lived in the basin of the Rhine, the Loire, in the upper reaches of the Danube, in the territory of modern France, Germany, England, partly Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

In the middle and second half of the 1st millennium BC. there is a uniformity of elements of archaeological cultures (burial rites, some weapons, art) in large areas: in Central and Western Europe - La Tène, in the Balkan-Danube region - Thracian and Getodak, in Eastern Europe and North Asia - the culture of the Scythian-Siberian world.

By the end of the Hallstatt culture, there are archaeological sites that can be associated with ethnic groups known in Europe: the ancient Germans, Slavs, Finno-Ugric peoples and Balts. In the east, the Indo-Aryan civilization of Ancient India and Ancient China of the late Qin and Han dynasties belong to the Early Iron Age. Thus, in the early Iron Age, the historical world came into contact with the world discovered by archaeologists in Europe and Asia. Where there are written sources that allow us to imagine the course of events, we can talk about historical data. But the development of other territories can be judged by archaeological materials.

The early Iron Age is characterized by the diversity and unevenness of the processes of historical development. At the same time, the following main trends can be distinguished in them. In Eurasia, two main types of civilizational development received their final form: settled agricultural and pastoralism and steppe pastoralism. The relationship between these two types of civilization development has acquired a historically stable character in Eurasia.

At the same time, in the early Iron Age, for the first time, the transcontinental Great Silk Road took shape, which played a significant role in the civilizational development of Eurasia and Asia. The Great Migration of Peoples, the formation of migratory ethnic groups of pastoralists, also played a great influence on the course of historical development. It should be noted that in the early Iron Age there was an economic development of almost all territories of Eurasia suitable for these purposes.

To the north of the most ancient states, two large historical and geographical zones are designated: the steppes of Eastern Europe and North Asia (Kazakhstan, Siberia) and an equally vast forest area. These zones differed in natural conditions, economic and cultural development.

In the steppes, starting from the Eneolithic, cattle breeding and partly agriculture developed. In the forest area, however, agriculture and forest cattle breeding have always been supplemented by hunting and fishing. In the extreme, subarctic north of Eastern Europe, in North Asia, the appropriating economy traditionally developed as the most rational for these territories of the Eurasian continent. It also developed in the northern part of Scandinavia, in Greenland and North America. The so-called circumpolar (circumpolar) stable zone of traditional economy and culture was created.

Finally, an important event in the early Iron Age was the formation of proto-ethnoi and ethnic groups, which are to some extent connected with archaeological complexes and with the modern ethnic situation. Among them are the ancient Germans, Slavs, Balts, Finno-Ugrians of the forest belt, Indo-Iranians of the south of Eurasia, Tungus-Manchus of the Far East and Paleo-Asians of the polar zone.

IRON AGE - an era in the primitive and early class history of mankind, characterized by the spread of iron metallurgy and the manufacture of iron tools. The idea of ​​three ages: stone, bronze and iron - arose in the ancient world (Titus Lucretius Car). The term "Iron Age" was coined around the middle of the 19th century by the Danish archaeologist K. J. Thomsen. The most important studies, the initial classification and dating of Iron Age sites in Western Europe were carried out by M. Görnes, O. Montelius, O. Tischler, M. Reinecke, J. Dechelet, N. Oberg, J. L. Peach and J. Kostszewski; in Vost. Europe - V. A. Gorodtsov, A. A. Spitsyn, Yu. V. Gotye, P. N. Tretyakov, A. P. Smirnov, X. A. Moora, M. I. Artamonov, B. N. Grakov and others; in Siberia, by S. A. Teploukhov, S. V. Kiselev, S. I. Rudenko, and others; in the Caucasus - B. A. Kuftin, B. B. Piotrovsky, E. I. Krupnov and others.

The period of the initial spread of the iron industry was experienced by all countries at different times, but the Iron Age usually refers only to the cultures of primitive tribes that lived outside the territories of ancient slave-owning civilizations that arose back in the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, India, China). The Iron Age is very short compared to previous archaeological epochs (Stone and Bronze Ages). Its chronological boundaries: from the 9th-7th centuries BC. e., when many primitive tribes of Europe and Asia developed their own iron metallurgy, and until the time when a class society and state arose among these tribes. Some modern foreign scientists, who consider the time of the appearance of written sources to be the end of primitive history, attribute the end of the Iron Age of Western Europe to the 1st century BC. e., when Roman written sources appear containing information about Western European tribes. Since iron still remains the most important material from which tools are made, the modern era enters the Iron Age, therefore, the term “early Iron Age” is also used for the archaeological periodization of primitive history. On the territory of Western Europe, only its beginning (the so-called Hallstatt culture) is called the Early Iron Age. Despite the fact that iron is the most common metal in the world, it was mastered by man late, since it is almost never found in nature in its pure form, it is difficult to process and its ores are difficult to distinguish from various minerals. Initially, meteoric iron became known to mankind. Small objects made of iron (mainly jewelry) are found in the 1st half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. The method of obtaining iron from ore was discovered in the 2nd millennium BC. e. According to one of the most likely assumptions, the cheese-making process (see below) was first used by Hittite-subordinate tribes living in the mountains of Armenia (Antitaur) in the 15th century BC. e. However, for a long time, iron remained a rare and very valuable metal. Only after the 11th century BC. e. a rather widespread production of iron weapons and tools began in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, and India. At the same time iron becomes known in the south of Europe. In the 11th-10th centuries BC. e. individual iron objects penetrate into the area north of the Alps, are found in the steppes of the south of the European part of the USSR, but iron tools begin to dominate in these areas only in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. In the 8th century BC e. iron products are widely distributed in Mesopotamia, Iran and somewhat later in Central Asia. The first news about iron in China dates back to the 8th century BC. e., but it spreads only in the 5th century BC. e. In Indochina and Indonesia, iron spread at the turn of our era. Apparently, from ancient times iron metallurgy was known to various African tribes. Undoubtedly, already in the 6th century BC. e. iron was produced in Nubia, Sudan, Libya. In the 2nd century BC e. the Iron Age began in the central region of Africa. Some African tribes moved from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, bypassing the Bronze Age. In America, Australia and most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, iron (except meteoric iron) became known only in the 2nd millennium AD. e. with the arrival of Europeans in these areas.

In contrast to the relatively rare sources of extraction of copper and especially tin, iron ores, although most often low-grade (brown iron ore, lacustrine, marsh, meadow, etc.), are found almost everywhere. But getting iron from ores is much more difficult than copper. The melting of iron, i.e., obtaining it in a liquid state, has always been inaccessible to ancient metallurgists, since this requires a very high temperature (1528 °). Iron was obtained in a paste-like state using a cheese-blowing process, which consisted in the reduction of iron ore with carbon at a temperature of 1100-1350 ° in special furnaces with air blown by bellows through a nozzle. At the bottom of the furnace, a kritz was formed - a lump of porous dough-like iron weighing 1-8 kg, which had to be repeatedly forged with a hammer to compact and partially remove (squeeze out) slag from it. Hot iron is soft, but even in ancient times (about the 12th century BC), a method was discovered for hardening iron products (by immersing them in cold water) and their cementation (carburization). Ready for blacksmith crafts and intended for trade exchange, iron bars usually had a bipyramidal shape in Western Asia and Western Europe. The higher mechanical qualities of iron, as well as the general availability of iron ore and the cheapness of the new metal, ensured the displacement of bronze by iron, as well as stone, which remained an important material for the production of tools in the Bronze Age. It didn't happen right away. In Europe, only in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC. e. iron began to play a really significant role as a material for making tools. The technological revolution caused by the spread of iron greatly expanded the power of man over nature. It made possible the clearing of large forest areas for crops, the expansion and improvement of irrigation and reclamation facilities, and the improvement of land cultivation in general. The development of crafts, especially blacksmithing and weapons, is accelerating. Wood processing is being improved for the purposes of house-building, the production of vehicles (ships, chariots, etc.), and the manufacture of various utensils. Artisans, from shoemakers and masons to miners, also received better tools. By the beginning of our era, all the main types of handicraft and agricultural hand tools (except screws and hinged scissors) used in the Middle Ages, and partly in modern times, were already in use. The construction of roads was facilitated, military equipment was improved, exchange expanded, and the metal coin spread as a means of circulation.

The development of productive forces associated with the spread of iron, over time, led to the transformation of the entire social life. As a result of the growth of productive labor, the surplus product increased, which, in turn, served as an economic prerequisite for the emergence of the exploitation of man by man, the collapse of the tribal system. One of the sources of the accumulation of values ​​and the growth of property inequality was the exchange that expanded during the Iron Age. The possibility of enrichment through exploitation gave rise to wars for the purpose of robbery and enslavement. The beginning of the Iron Age is characterized by a wide distribution of fortifications. In the era of the Iron Age, the tribes of Europe and Asia were going through the stage of decomposition of the primitive communal system, they were on the eve of the emergence of a class society and state. The transfer of part of the means of production into the private ownership of the ruling minority, the emergence of slavery, the increased stratification of society, and the separation of the tribal aristocracy from the bulk of the population are already features typical of early class societies. Among many tribes, the social organization of this transition period took the political form of the so-called military democracy.

A. L. Mongait. Moscow.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 5. DVINSK - INDONESIA. 1964.

Literature:

Engels F., The origin of the family, private property and the state, M., 1953; Artsikhovsky A. V., Introduction to archeology, 3rd ed., M., 1947; World History, vol. 1-2, M., 1955-56; Gernes M., Culture of the prehistoric past, trans. from German, part 3, M., 1914; Gorodtsov V. A., Household archeology, M., 1910; Gotye Yu. V., Iron Age in Eastern Europe, M.-L., 1930; Grakov BN, The oldest finds of iron things in the European part of the USSR, "CA", 1958, No 4; Jessen A. A., On the issue of monuments of the VIII - VII centuries. BC e. in the South of the European part of the USSR, in: "CA" (vol.) 18, M., 1953; Kiselev S.V., Ancient history of Yu. Siberia, (2nd ed.), M., 1951; Clark D. G. D., Prehistoric Europe. Economical essay, trans. from English, M., 1953; Krupnov E.I., Ancient history of the North Caucasus, M., 1960; Lyapushkin I.I., Monuments of the Saltovo-Mayatsky culture in the basin of the river. Don, "MIA", 1958, No 62; its own, the Dnieper forest-steppe left bank in the Iron Age, MIA, 1961, No. 104; Mongait A. L., Archeology in the USSR, M., 1955; Niederle L., Slavic Antiquities, trans. from Czech., M., 1956; Okladnikov A.P., The distant past of Primorye, Vladivostok, 1959; Essays on the history of the USSR. Primitive communal system and the most ancient states on the territory of the USSR, M., 1956; Monuments of Zarubinets culture, "MIA", 1959, No 70; Piotrovsky B. V., Archeology of Transcaucasia from ancient times to 1 thousand BC. e., L., 1949; his own, Kingdom of Van, M., 1959; Rudenko S. I., Culture of the population of the Central Altai in the Scythian time, M.-L., 1960; Smirnov A.P., Iron Age of the Chuvash Volga Region, M., 1961; Tretyakov P. N., East Slavic tribes, 2nd ed., M., 1953; Chernetsov V.N., Lower Ob region in 1000 AD e., "MIA", 1957, No 58; Déchelette J., Manuel d "archéologie prehistorique celtique et gallo-romaine, 2 ed., t. 3-4, P., 1927; Johannsen O., Geschichte des Eisens, Düsseldorf, 1953; Moora H., Die Eisenzeit in Lettland bis etwa 500 n. Chr., (t.) 1-2, Tartu (Dorpat), 1929-38; Redlich A., Die Minerale im Dienste der Menschheit, Bd 3 - Das Eisen, Prag, 1925; Rickard T. A., Man and metals, v. 1-2, N. Y.-L., 1932.

iron age

period in the development of mankind, which began with the spread of iron metallurgy and the manufacture of iron tools and weapons. Replaced the Bronze Age mainly in the beginning. 1st millennium BC e. The use of iron gave a powerful stimulus to the development of production and accelerated social development. In the Iron Age, the majority of the peoples of Eurasia experienced the decomposition of the primitive communal system and the transition to a class society.

iron age

an era in the primitive and early class history of mankind, characterized by the spread of iron metallurgy and the manufacture of iron tools. The idea of ​​three ages: stone, bronze and iron ≈ arose in the ancient world (Titus Lucretius Car). The term "J. V." was introduced into science around the middle of the 19th century. Danish archaeologist K. Yu. Thomsen. The most important studies, the initial classification and dating of the monuments of Zh. in Western Europe they were made by the Austrian scientist M. Görnes, the Swedish one by O. Montelius and O. Oberg, the German one by O. Tischler and P. Reinecke, the French one by J. Dechelet, the Czech one by I. Peach, and the Polish one by J. Kostszewski; in Eastern Europe by the Russian and Soviet scientists V. A. Gorodtsov, A. A. Spitsyn, Yu. V. Gotye, P. N. Tretyakov, A. P. Smirnov, H. A. Moora, M. I. Artamonov B. N. Grakov and others; in Siberia, by S. A. Teploukhov, S. V. Kiselev, S. I. Rudenko, and others; in the Caucasus, by B. A. Kuftin, A. A. Iessen, B. B. Piotrovsky, E. I. Krupnov, and others; in Central Asia, by S. P. Tolstov, A. N. Bernshtam, A. I. Terenozhkin, and others.

The period of the initial spread of the iron industry was experienced by all countries at different times, but by the Zh. Usually, only the cultures of primitive tribes that lived outside the territories of ancient slave-owning civilizations that arose in the Eneolithic and Bronze Ages (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, India, China, etc.) are usually attributed. J. c. compared with previous archaeological epochs (Stone and Bronze Ages) is very short. Its chronological boundaries: from the 9th-7th centuries. BC e., when many primitive tribes of Europe and Asia developed their own iron metallurgy, and until the time when a class society and state arose among these tribes. Some modern foreign scholars, who consider the time of the appearance of written sources to be the end of primitive history, attribute the end of the Zh. Western Europe to the 1st century. BC e., when Roman written sources appear containing information about Western European tribes. Since iron still remains the most important metal from whose alloys tools are made, the term “early iron age” is also used for the archaeological periodization of primitive history. On the territory of Western Europe, early Zh. only its beginning is called (the so-called Hallstatt culture). Initially, meteoric iron became known to mankind. Separate items made of iron (mainly jewelry) 1st half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. found in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. A method for obtaining iron from ore was discovered in the 2nd millennium BC. e. According to one of the most probable assumptions, the cheese-making process (see below) was first used by the tribes subordinate to the Hittites living in the mountains of Armenia (Antitaur) in the 15th century. BC e. However, for a long time, iron remained a rare and very valuable metal. Only after the 11th c. BC e. rather extensive production of iron weapons and tools began in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, and India. At the same time iron becomes known in the south of Europe. In the 11th-10th centuries. BC e. individual iron objects penetrate into the region north of the Alps and are found in the steppes of the south of the European part of the modern territory of the USSR, but iron tools begin to predominate in these regions only from the 8th to 7th centuries. BC e. In the 8th c. BC e. iron products are widely distributed in Mesopotamia, Iran and somewhat later in Central Asia. The first news about iron in China dates back to the 8th century. BC e., but it spreads only from the 5th c. BC e. In Indochina and Indonesia, iron prevails at the turn of our era. Apparently, from ancient times iron metallurgy was known to various African tribes. Undoubtedly, already in the 6th c. BC e. iron was produced in Nubia, Sudan, Libya. In the 2nd century BC e. J. c. arrived in central Africa. Some African tribes moved from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, bypassing the Bronze Age. In America, Australia, and most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, iron (except meteoric iron) became known only in the 16th and 17th centuries. n. e. with the advent of Europeans in these areas.

In contrast to the relatively rare deposits of copper and especially tin, iron ores, however, most often low-grade (brown iron ore), are found almost everywhere. But getting iron from ores is much more difficult than copper. The smelting of iron was beyond the reach of ancient metallurgists. Iron was obtained in a paste-like state by means of a cheese-blowing process, which consisted in the reduction of iron ore at a temperature of about 900≈1350╟C in special furnaces - forges with air blown by bellows through a nozzle. At the bottom of the furnace, a ridge was formed - a lump of porous iron weighing 1≈5 kg, which had to be forged for compaction, as well as removal of slag from it. Raw iron is a very soft metal; tools and weapons made of pure iron had low mechanical qualities. Only with the discovery in the 9th-7th centuries. BC e. methods of manufacturing steel from iron and its heat treatment, the wide distribution of the new material begins. The higher mechanical qualities of iron and steel, as well as the general availability of iron ores and the cheapness of the new metal, ensured the displacement of bronze, as well as stone, which remained an important material for the production of tools in the Bronze Age. It didn't happen right away. In Europe, only in the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC. e. iron and steel began to play a really significant role as a material for the manufacture of tools and weapons. The technical revolution caused by the spread of iron and steel greatly expanded man's power over nature: it became possible to clear large forest areas for crops, expand and improve irrigation and reclamation facilities, and improve land cultivation in general. The development of crafts, especially blacksmithing and weapons, is accelerating. Wood processing is being improved for the purposes of house-building, the production of vehicles (ships, chariots, etc.), and the manufacture of various utensils. Artisans, from shoemakers and masons to miners, also received better tools. By the beginning of our era, all the main types of handicraft and agricultural. hand tools (except for screws and articulated scissors), used in the Middle Ages, and partly in modern times, were already in use. The construction of roads was facilitated, military equipment was improved, exchange expanded, and the metal coin spread as a means of circulation.

The development of productive forces associated with the spread of iron, over time, led to the transformation of the entire social life. As a result of the growth of labor productivity, the surplus product increased, which, in turn, served as an economic prerequisite for the emergence of the exploitation of man by man, the collapse of the tribal primitive communal system. One of the sources of the accumulation of values ​​and the growth of property inequality was the expanding in the era of Zh. century. exchange. The possibility of enrichment through exploitation gave rise to wars for the purpose of robbery and enslavement. At the beginning of the Zh. fortifications spread widely. In the era of Zh. the tribes of Europe and Asia were going through the stage of disintegration of the primitive communal system, were on the eve of the emergence of class society and the state. The transition of certain means of production into the private ownership of the ruling minority, the emergence of slave ownership, the increased stratification of society, and the separation of the tribal aristocracy from the bulk of the population are already features typical of early class societies. For many tribes, the social structure of this transitional period took the political form of the so-called. military democracy.

J. c. on the territory of the USSR. On the modern territory of the USSR, iron first appeared at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. in Transcaucasia (Samtavr burial ground) and in the south of the European part of the USSR. The development of iron in Racha (Western Georgia) dates back to ancient times. The Mossinois and Khalibs, who lived next to the Colchians, were famous as metallurgists. However, the widespread use of iron metallurgy on the territory of the USSR dates back to the 1st millennium BC. e. In Transcaucasia, a number of archaeological cultures of the late Bronze Age are known, the flowering of which dates back to the early Zh. century: the Central Transcaucasian culture with local centers in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Kyzyl-Vank culture (see Kyzyl-Vank), the Colchian culture, Urartian culture (see Urartu). In the North Caucasus: the Koban culture, the Kayakent-Khorochoev culture and the Kuban culture. In the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region in the 7th century. BC e. ≈ first centuries AD. e. inhabited by the Scythian tribes, who created the most developed culture of the early Zh. century. on the territory of the USSR. Iron products were found in abundance in the settlements and mounds of the Scythian period. Signs of metallurgical production were found during excavations of a number of Scythian settlements. The largest number of remnants of the iron-working and blacksmith trades were found at the Kamenskoye settlement (fifth-third centuries BC) near Nikopol, which was apparently the center of a specialized metallurgical region of ancient Scythia (see Scythians). Iron tools contributed to the wide development of various crafts and the spread of plowed agriculture among the local tribes of the Scythian time. The next after the Scythian period of the early Zh. in the steppes of the Black Sea region, it is represented by the Sarmatian culture (see Sarmatians), which dominated here from the 2nd century. BC e. up to 4 c. n. e. In the previous period from the 7th c. BC e. Sarmatians (or Savromats) lived between the Don and the Urals. In the first centuries A.D. e. one of the Sarmatian tribes - the Alans - began to play a significant historical role, and gradually the very name of the Sarmatians was supplanted by the name of the Alans. By the same time, when the Sarmatian tribes dominated the Northern Black Sea region, the cultures of the “burial fields” (Zarubinetskaya culture, Chernyakhovskaya culture, etc.) that spread in the western regions of the Northern Black Sea region, the Upper and Middle Dnieper and Transnistria belong to. These cultures belonged to agricultural tribes who knew the metallurgy of iron, among which, according to some scientists, were the ancestors of the Slavs. The tribes living in the central and northern forest regions of the European part of the USSR were familiar with iron metallurgy from the 6th-5th centuries. BC e. In the 8th-3rd centuries BC e. in the Kama region, the Ananyin culture was widespread, which is characterized by the coexistence of bronze and iron tools, with the undoubted superiority of the latter at the end of it. The Ananyino culture on the Kama was replaced by the Pyanobor culture (late 1st millennium BC ≈ 1st half of the 1st millennium AD).

In the Upper Volga region and in the regions of the Volga-Oka interfluve to Zh. century. include settlements of the Dyakovo culture (mid-1st millennium BC - mid-1st millennium AD), and in the territory south of the middle reaches of the Oka, west of the Volga, in the basin of the river. Tsna and Moksha, ≈ settlements of the Gorodets culture (7th century BC ≈ 5th century AD), which belonged to the ancient Finno-Ugric tribes. Numerous settlements of the 6th century BC are known in the region of the Upper Dnieper. BC e. ≈ 7 c. n. e., which belonged to the ancient East Baltic tribes, later absorbed by the Slavs. The settlements of the same tribes are known in the southeastern Baltic, where, along with them, there are also the remains of a culture that belonged to the ancestors of the ancient Estonian (Chud) tribes.

In Southern Siberia and Altai, due to the abundance of copper and tin, the bronze industry developed strongly, successfully competing with iron for a long time. Although iron products, apparently, appeared already in the early Mayemir time (Altai; 7th century BC), iron was widely distributed only in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. (Tagar culture on the Yenisei, Pazyryk mounds in Altai, etc.). Cultures Zh. v. are also represented in other parts of Siberia and the Far East. On the territory of Central Asia and Kazakhstan until the 8th-7th centuries. BC e. tools and weapons were also made of bronze. The appearance of iron products both in agricultural oases and in the cattle-breeding steppe can be attributed to the 7th-6th centuries. BC e. Throughout the 1st millennium BC. e. and in the 1st half of the 1st millennium AD. e. the steppes of Central Asia and Kazakhstan were inhabited by numerous Sako-Usun tribes, in whose culture iron became widespread from the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. In the agricultural oases, the time of the appearance of iron coincides with the emergence of the first slave-owning states (Bactria, Sogd, Khorezm).

J. c. on the territory of Western Europe, it is usually divided into 2 periods - the Hallstatt (900-400 BC), which was also called the early, or first Zh. , which is called late, or second. The Hallstatt culture was spread on the territory of modern Austria, Yugoslavia, Northern Italy, partly Czechoslovakia, where it was created by the ancient Illyrians, and on the territory of modern Germany and the Rhine departments of France, where the Celtic tribes lived. The cultures close to the Hallstatt belong to this time: the Thracian tribes in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, the Etruscan, Ligurian, Italic, and other tribes on the Apennine Peninsula; the cultures of the early Zh. century. Iberian Peninsula (Iberians, Turdetans, Lusitans, etc.) and the late Lusatian culture in the basins of the river. Oder and Vistula. The early Hallstatt period is characterized by the coexistence of bronze and iron tools and weapons and the gradual displacement of bronze. In the economic sense, this epoch is characterized by the growth of agriculture, in the social sense, by the disintegration of tribal relations. The Bronze Age still existed at that time in the north of present-day East Germany and West Germany, in Scandinavia, Western France, and England. From the beginning of the 5th c. the La Tene culture spreads, characterized by a genuine flourishing of the iron industry. The La Tène culture existed before the conquest of Gaul by the Romans (1st century BC). La Tène culture is associated with the tribes of the Celts, who had large fortified cities, which were the centers of tribes and places of concentration of various crafts. In this era, the Celts gradually created a class slave society. Bronze tools are no longer found, but iron was most widely used in Europe during the period of the Roman conquests. At the beginning of our era, in the areas conquered by Rome, the La Tene culture was replaced by the so-called. provincial Roman culture. Iron spread to the north of Europe almost 300 years later than to the south. By the end of the Zh. refers to the culture of the Germanic tribes that lived in the territory between the North Sea and the river. Rhine, Danube and Elbe, as well as in the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and archaeological cultures, the carriers of which are considered the ancestors of the Slavs. In the northern countries, the complete dominance of iron came only at the beginning of our era.

Lit .: F. Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., Vol. 21; Avdusin D. A., Archeology of the USSR, [M.], 1967; Artsikhovsky A. V., Introduction to archeology, 3rd ed., M., 1947; World History, vol. 1≈2, M., 1955≈56; Gotye, Yu. V., The Iron Age in Eastern Europe, M. ≈ L., 1930; Grakov B.N., The oldest finds of iron things in the European part of the territory of the USSR, "Soviet archeology", 1958, ╧ 4; Zagorulsky E. M., Archeology of Belarus, Minsk, 1965; History of the USSR from ancient times to the present day, vol. 1, M., 1966; Kiselev S.V., Ancient history of Southern Siberia, Moscow, 1951; Clark D. G. D., Prehistoric Europe. Economic essay, trans. from English, M., 1953; Krupnov E.I., Ancient history of the North Caucasus, M., 1960; Mongait A. L., Archeology in the USSR, M., 1955; Niederle L., Slavic Antiquities, trans. from Czech., M., 1956; Piotrovsky B. B., Archeology of Transcaucasia from ancient times to 1 thousand BC. e., L., 1949; Tolstov S. P., According to the ancient deltas of the Oks and Yaksart, M., 1962; Shovkoplyas I. G., Archaeological records in Ukraine (1917≈1957), K., 1957; Aitchison L., A history of metals, t. 1≈2, L., 1960; CLark G., World prehistory, Camb., 1961; Forbes R.J., Studies in ancient technology, v. 8, Leiden, 1964; Johannsen O., Geschichte des Eisens, Düsseldorf, 1953; Laet S. J. de, La prehistoire de l'Europe, P. ≈ Brux., 1967; Moora H., Die Eisenzeit in Lettland bis etwa 500 n. Chr., 1≈2, Tartu (Dorpat), 1929≈38; Piggott S., Ancient Europe, Edinburgh, 1965; Pleiner R., Staré europské kovářství, Praha, 1962; Tulecote R. F., Metallurgy in archaeology, L., 1962.

L. L. Mongait.

Wikipedia

iron age

iron age- an epoch in the primitive and saxoclass history of mankind, characterized by the spread of iron metallurgy and the maceration of iron tools; lasted from about 1200 BC. e. before 340 AD e.

The idea of ​​three ages (stone, bronze and iron) existed in the ancient world, it is mentioned in the works of Titus Lucretius Kara. However, the term "Iron Age" itself appeared in scientific works in the middle of the 19th century, it was introduced by the Danish archaeologist Christian Jurgensen Thomsen.

All countries have passed the period when iron metallurgy began to spread, however, as a rule, only those cultures of primitive tribes that lived outside the possessions of ancient states formed during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages - Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, are usually referred to the Iron Age. India, China.