The Iron Age: The Birth of Modern Tools

The Iron Age refers to the period of time in which humans began to use iron and other metals to shape tools and weapons. Oddly, the Iron Age also ushered in other major changes in societies, and saw the birth of civilization that we can identify with. It was when many religious beliefs and artistic styles began to emerge that have stuck around since that time. On each continent, the Iron Age occurred at a different time, consisted of different changes, and brought in different things. Here I will examine the Iron Age as experienced by each of the populated continents of the time.

Many people mistakenly think that the Iron Age ushered in the usage of advanced tools made of metal. On the contrary, humans had been using tools made of bronze for quite some time. The Iron Age is a term used to describe when technology progressed past a certain point. Iron takes a higher level of craftsmanship and more heat to melt it and craft it, so it wasn’t as easy to make iron tools as it was to make bronze tools. It took more efforts from not only the crafters, but also those who were tasked with mining the iron.

The new widespread use of iron led to changes in almost every area of life. Weapons become much more advanced as strong armor, swords, and catapults could be built. This is when the first huge impressions started to be made upon the world. The Romans were able to build their aqueducts to supply entire towns with fresh water. Huge structures began to be built with more modern construction techniques that have allowed for the buildings to survive to this day (perhaps not in their full original condition, though).

If you decide to do any further reading on the iron age, you are almost sure to be astounded by some of the leaps and bounds that were made by mankind at that time. You can find entire books telling about the different regions of the world and what sort of things they contributed to the technological advances. This was a time in history when everything was changing rapidly, and it is interesting to look back and see it. You may even get some insights into what is happening today, and how we will view our new technological advances in the future.