the Iron Age

Hey there lovelies! Cid here and today I bring to you information on the Iron Age for this week’s #takeover! I’m super excited to learn and teach about this topic.

So, let’s get into it!

What is the Iron Age?

The Iron Age is classified as the era in which many people across various countries started making weapons out of iron and steel. This period started between roughly 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C. The countries mainly affected were mainly Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa, but other countries participated in this iron making as well.

There’s a bit of an argument when it comes to determining when the Iron Age actually ended. For some countries, it’s speculated it ended around 500 AD — whereas with others it might have been around 800 AD.

Why the shift to iron?

Before the Iron Age, most weapons were made of bronze. This could be because iron weapons were oftentimes considered inferior to bronze weapons — mainly due to their strength. Steel, however, is a lot stronger than bronze. When people figured out that they could strengthen iron by turning it to steel, these types of weapons became much more commonplace.

One benefit to iron is that it’s a lot easier to come by. And, when heading it with carbon, steel is produced. A lot of items today are made of steel because of how durable it is and how it’s easier to come across than bronze or other materials.

Was there anything else big happening at the time?

Besides the discovery of steel, there were a lot of different events happening at this time! One big thing to note is that farming became a lot more popular. Most families lived on farms and they lived their lives depending on the changing of seasons.

For example, in later years when the seasons changed, school would start and end based on the harvest. A lot of school systems would start in the fall/winter and then go until late spring/early summer so that the children could help with the harvest in preparation for the next fall season. This is why a lot of schools have a summer vacation system today.

Another interesting invention was the hill fort! Hill forts were these vast valleys/basins that helped with protection, farming, storing food, and more. They were oftentimes placed outside of where families would live. Soldiers and those protecting the land would fight outside of these forts and those that resided inside were protected.

Other Facts

-Iron was a lot easier to shape than bronze was. This was achieved by smithing or smelting the metal so it could become malleable.

-The diet of different people was determined by which part of the country they lived in.

-There we’re vast improvements in agriculture and diet, as well as a population increase.

-by 700 BC iron was widely used in Britain

-in 100 BC the first coins were minted in Britain

That’s all from me today! I hope you all enjoyed reading and I’ll see you in the next post!

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